Las Vegas Sands missed Wall Street expectations in Macao, made up for that in Singapore (partly on the strength of runaway Chinese high rollers) 
and “was solidly in line” on the Las Vegas Strip, according to JP Morgan analyst Joseph Greff. Protests in Hong Kong and an extended visit by China President Xi Jinping were blamed for the not-quite-disappointing Macanese numbers but, as Greff wrote, that is all “less relevant” than what is going to happen in 1Q20 with coronavirus on the rampage. “LVS’s Asian operations and investor sentiment will be shaped, at least in the near-term, by worsening impact or progress in finding a cure for the virus and a return to normalcy in China/Macau travel and spending patterns. In any event, we view the impact as temporary and transient while all the Macau stocks seem to be reflecting this as permanent.”
Even so, Greff slashed his first-quarter cash-flow projections by 50% and his 2Q20 ones by 25%, while standing pat on the remainder of 2020. He sees this as redounding to the slight benefit of Marina Bay Sands. Transformation of Sands Cotai Central into The Londoner will cost 
$1.3 billion, with the reopening phased across 202o into 2021. In 4Q19, Macao gambling revenues were down 4%, with a 3.5% increase in mass-market play negated by a 20% tumble in VIP action (the players who were presumably scared off by President Xi). Mass-market wagering was actually down very slightly, so luck was with the house, while extension of credit fell 31%. In Singapore, LVS grossed $853 million in net revenues, well ahead of Greff’s projected $735 million. VIP action was way up (as in 63%) with credit extensions—aka “rolling chip volume”—16% higher. This more than made up for a 1% dip in mass-market win per day.
Back home, Venelazzo netted $475 million, a 12% jump, as baccarat wagering increased 12%, leading all categories. Table wagering was $540 million, while $841 million got fed into the slots (up 6%). Revenue per available room was $239, representing a 1% increase in room rates. Finally, Sands Bethlehem was zeroed off the balance sheet, reflecting the end of Sheldon Adelson‘s ambivalent foray into regional gaming. LVS doesn’t “do” smaller markets well and the company was wise to ultimately recognize this.
* Meet Robert “Big Rob” Gorodetsky, a high roller who’s got a date with the big house. Gorodetsky is expected to plead guilty next week to charges of falsifying his tax returns and committing wire fraud. The overarching case is that he gulled “Victim A” into giving him $9.5 million on the pretense that it would be invested. Instead “Big Rob” used the money to place high-risk sports bets and finance a lavish lifestyle. A familiar sight in Las Vegas, what with his Louis Vuitton hoodies and entourage that included someone designated to pick up women, Gorodetsky was such a high-profile bettor that USA Today profiled him. “The article described how Gorodetsky bet more than $1 million in one week that fall, dropping $350,000 on a single NFL Sunday and tens of thousands of dollars more on Major League Baseball games, the NBA, tennis, soccer and even high school sports,” according to Northwest Georgia News.
That profile shown an unwelcome spotlight on those who associated with Big Rob … like Odell Beckham Jr. and basketballer Damon Jones, both of whom later claimed not to know Gorodetsky, despite having been photographed with him. It also seems to have led to Big Rob’s being 86’d from all William Hill and MGM Resorts International sports books in Las Vegas. (A pretty extensive ban.) He found a pigeon in Victim A, who would give Gorodetsky hundreds of thousands of dollars that Big Rob would turn right around and either wager at the books or buy shiny objects. “In that time period, Gorodetsky spent at least $2.2 million of the victim’s funds on items unrelated to sports bets, including to pay his living, travel and entertainment expenses, as well as purchase luxury cars and jewelry, the charges said.” Although Gorodetsky claimed to have a 65% win rate on his unresearched parlay bets, that claim is disputed. Maybe he can organize a fantasy football league while he’s in the slammer. He’ll have time for it.
Jottings: The long arm of the law has reached all the way around from Israel to Australia, as James Packer has been summoned as a witness in the corruption trial of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Trouble seems to follow Packer wherever he goes these days … California‘s Timbisha Shoshone Tribe of Death Valley has settled its differences with the city of Ridgecrest, making its desired tribal casino a ‘go’ … BetMGM was forced to move the Kansas City Chiefs to 1.5 Super Bowl favorites after receiving a $550,000 bet on the team to win by a point. However, a $1 million bet on the San Francisco 49ers is reported to be imminent, which would move the line back again. The apparent return from injury of 49ers running back Tevin Coleman could also change the odds.
