Everybody wins in Massachusetts; Makeover for The Mirage

Massachusetts casinos bagged $88 million last month, a 12% boost over 2019. Encore Boston Harbor, predictably, was way, way out in front with $55 million, up 16.5%. Win was fairly even divided between slots ($30 million) and tables ($25 million), in a vindication of Wynn Resorts‘ business plan for the market. Plainridge Park was flat with $11 and MGM Springfield had a good month, grossing $22 million and up 9%. Casino win was down 8.5% from October but we’re discounting that due both to “seasonality” and one fewer weekend when compared to two years ago.

Truist Securities analyst Barry Jonas had a few thoughts on the blockbuster sale of The Mirage to Hard Rock International. He scored it a “modest positive” for MGM Resorts International, while Mirage landlord Vici Properties is assured “positives more around Strip tenant diversification and pipeline.” For $1 billion, the Seminole Tribe is going to have a tough row to hoe when it comes to making a substantial ROI on $64 million in cash flow a year ($154 million minus rent). Our speculation is that The Mirage will be a “loss leader” for the Seminoles, at least until they can jazz it up with the Hard Rock brand and new hotel tower, juicing the drawing power of the property. Certain amenities might be in peril but The Beatles: Love by Cirque du Soleil seems a safe bet to stay put, given how it reinforces the new brand identity. No more volcano, though. Consolation prize: Mirage employees—3,500 of them—get to keep their jobs.

Back to Jonas. He estimates MGM will save $100 million it had planned to spend renovating The Mirage and steer the latter’s cash flow to The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, courtesy of M Life, “though we believe Mirage has a very loyal property specific player base. Construction at Mirage in a multi-year rebranding to Hard Rock could also be a temporary positive if there is reduced capacity in the market for some time.” However, “the Hard Rock database and brand could be a formidable player in the Vegas market once fully open.” Besides, if you can build on the Strip at all, you can’t do it for $1 billion, so the Seminoles may have gotten off cheaply, difficult though that is to believe.

As S&G readers have rightly noted, the Seminoles will—or at least should—face some tough Nevada Gaming Control Board questioning about their renegade sports-betting operation in Florida and defiance of federal court orders. How can we be sure they’ll play by the rules in Nevada? Hard Rock CEO Jim Allen is going to have to do some fancy tap-dancing when this license application comes up before the NGCB.

Jottings: Look and see Station Casinos‘ new Wildfire site near Downtown. It would be nestled next to a Lowe’s Home Improvement, which should be good for foot traffic. Get some lug nuts and go play the slots … FanDuel is pushing all its chips to center of the table in a Florida ballot initiative to legalize private-sector sports betting. It’s plowed almost $4.5 million into Florida Education Champions, a front for FanDuel and DraftKings. However, they have only 172,000 of the 900,000 verified signatures that they need … WalletHub ranks Las Vegas as the third-best place to spend Christmas Day (leading the nation in “Food Banks per Capita”). We spent 17 Christmases in Las Vegas and vociferously beg to differ … Casino workers in Atlantic City have gained a key, new ally in Deputy Speaker Paul Moriarty (D). “It is unconscionable that any workers in New Jersey would knowingly be subjected to carcinogens in the workplace,” he said. “It is time for New Jersey to treat casino employees as equal to other service industry workers and prohibit smoking in casinos.” Bravo … Despite being the world’s most disreputable casino company, Crown Resorts says it will be offering gambling in Sydney starting early next year. “I firmly believe the business has turned the corner and it’s been significantly de-risked,” said new CEO Steve McCann … Jason Ader‘s Jetsons-style casino for New York City is targeted for Manhattan, which makes it a non-starter. Another strike against it is proposed moniker Mirai, which means “future” in Japanese and “WTF?” to the average gambler … ESPN has been jilted by a Rochester, New York sports-talk station in favor of CBS Sports Radio and BetQL Network. The latter duo also launched The Bet 790 AM in Memphis. Don’t tell us that sports wagering isn’t the new national pastime.