Let’s start the day with a rare, feel-good story about an invalidated jackpot. Normally, these things go the way of the house. But not this time. On January 8, at Treasure Island, a player named Robert Taylor was playing the slots and hit a $230K bonanza. But the machine goofed and didn’t go wild, as it’s supposed to do. Give credit to Treasure Island staffers for noticing the mega-glitch and informing the Nevada Gaming Control Board. To our eternal gratitude (and that of Mr. Taylor, no doubt), “gaming officials combed through hours of surveillance videos from several casinos, interviewed witnesses, shifted [sic] through electronic purchase records and even analyzed ride share data provided by the Nevada Transportation Authority.” Eventually Taylor, an Arizona tourist, was located and remunerated.
The whole thing took two weeks but jackpot delayed was not jackpot denied. Last week the NGCB did the wrong thing by approving Apollo Management to take over Venelazzo. In the Treasure Island affair it very much did the right thing (as did the casino), an instance of fair-mindedness that is rightly garnering Las Vegas an armful of good publicity that no PR campaign can buy.
Staying on the Las Vegas Strip, you’ll recall perhaps that when the Adele meltdown was reaching Chernobyl proportions, we asked what the odds where that an Adele tribute show would hit the Strip before Ms. Adkins did. Pretty good, it turns out. Yesterday, Legends in Concert at the Tropicana Las Vegas announced that Adele and Celine Dion impersonators had been added to its durable lineup. To rub it in, Legends offered free admission to anyone holding tickets to the postponed Adkins and Dion residencies. (Had they done so when all the Adele fans were in town for the canceled opening, they would have been stampeded.) And if you can’t afford Lady Gaga tix, Legends has a Mother Monster impersonator, too. As for Weekends with Adele at Caesars Palace, even Vital Vegas is giving up hope, reporting “there’s been no indication when, or even if, the residency is happening” as the sets are shipped to the warehouse.
For all its prattle about “protecting the shield,” the biggest enemy to the NFL‘s integrity is the NFL itself. You’ll recall that the Wall Street Journal laid out a scenario whereby the Las Vegas Raiders and Los Angeles Chargers could—without fear of repercussion—collude to throw their season-finale game in such a way that both teams would make the playoffs. (In the end, the Raiders barely won.) That’s nothing compared to the allegations made by ex-coaches Brian Flores and Hue Jackson that they were offered money by team owners to tank games, incurring the wrath of sports bettors who thought they were wagering on games that were being played on the square. Expect class-action suits. (There’s also the small matter of the federal Sports Bribery Act.) And for years, if not decades, the NFL would have had us believe that it was sports betting that was the threat to the game. Ha! Roger Goodell had better look to the beam in his eye before decrying the mote in bettors’.
Moving along to regional gaming, Deutsche Bank analyst Carlo Santarelli warns investors of a moderating trend in year-over-revenue comparisons as we move into 2022. He writes, “Relative to the Y/Y tracked foot traffic in December, each of the 6 markets we track showed a deceleration in the rate of growth in January, relative to January of 2021. Accordingly, in January, we expect 5 of the 6 tracked markets to present weaker [gross gaming revenue] comparisons, relative to the Y/Y growth rates experienced in December.” Accordingly, he continues to make 2022/2019 comparisons in monthly gaming reports. To wit …
Illinois was, as ever, a disappointment in January, down 7% (-11% when Hard Rock Rockford is factored out of the equation). There was also a significant cooling-off from December. Even an extra weekend day was no great help. Hard Rock contributed $3.5 million (above you see its eventual, permanent form, not the current, temporary casino). Only Grand Victoria significantly outperformed the market, flat with 2019 at $11 million. Rivers Casino Des Plaines ceded 3% to reach $30 million. Empress Joliet was down 15% to $6.5 million, Hollywood Aurora slipped 4% to $8 million and Harrah’s Joliet stumbled 26% to $9.5 million. Bally’s Quad Cities was off 16% to $3.6 million, Par-A-Dice faded 12% to $4 million and Argosy Belle had a dreadful month, plunging 41% to $2 million, while Harrah’s Metropolis slid 20% to $4.5 million. That leaves DraftKings Casino Queen, down 13% to $6 million.
There was a bit of good news left over from December, in the form of $37 million in sports book revenue on handle of $789.5 million. “Sports books have operated at a blistering pace over the last three months, and it certainly helps going forward that the [Chicago] Bulls are a hot ticket,” said PlayUSA analyst Joe Boozell. “Even with regulatory restraints like in-person registration placed on Illinois operators, the state’s sports books still managed to triple betting volume year over year,” added colleague Eric Ramsey. Football drove $266 million in bets, while b-ball was good for $226.5 million in handle. (95% of wagering was done online.) DraftKings won the battle—$295 million handle—but lost the war with only $7.5 million revenue. FanDuel stirred up $232 million in action and kept $14 million. BetRivers captured 20% of handle and BetMGM was approved for deployment too late to have an impact.
Heading east, we find greater comfort in Ohio, where gaming revenues last month leapt 22% over 2019 for a statewide gross of $171 million. Slot win was up 23% on 28% more coin-in. Table wagers were up 14% and win 13%. We’re foxed as to why Deutsche Bank left MGM Northfield Park out of its summary of financial results, especially as it is the traditional market leader. As usual, competition was fierce, with Hollywood Columbus and Hard Rock Cincinnati both booking $20 million, jumping 15.5% and 32.5% respectively. Jack Cleveland climbed 17% to $18 million, while Hollywood Toledo and Scioto Downs duked it out for $17 million apiece, up 20.5% and 30.5%. Jack Thistledown vaulted 36.5% to $13 million while Miami Valley Gaming pulled in $15.5 million, a 24% jump. Belterra Park got left out of the fun, up only 7% to $6.5 million. Hollywood Dayton vaulted 44% to $11.5 million and Hollywood Mahoning Valley was up 18.5% to $11 million.
Not to be left out of the party was Maryland, up 12% to $154 million. If there was an unhappy camper it was Horseshoe Baltimore, tumbling 20% to $16 million. MGM National Harbor led easily with $67 million, up 19%. Then came Maryland Live and its $54.5 million (+18%). Hollywood Perryville also posted an impressive gain, 22%, to reach $7 million. More modest climbers were Ocean Downs with its $5 million (+3%) and Rocky Gap Resort and its $4 million (+7%).
Jottings: Long-in-abeyance Fontainebleau might just make that end-of-2023 goal after all. A construction crane has been spotted on the site, as have other tangible signs of progress. There’s even a little “fb” sign at the top of the tower … That on-and-off Encore Boston Harbor expansion is back on. An 1,800-seat concert hall plus restaurants (and parking) are planned for the other side of Broadway in Everett, although the event center may have been downsized. Regulators will find out for certain on Thursday … Although it’s more than a year away from federal approval (or disapproval), a $60 million tribal casino in Lake Ozark, Missouri is underway. The Osage Tribe has begun taking bids for demolition work at the intended site … Just today we learned that Palms Casino Resort has scaled back its intended hiring goal from 1,200 souls to 1,000. Perhaps it should join Caesars Entertainment in a Feb. 24 “national day of hiring,” intended to highlight the (mostly excellent) salaries and benefits to be found within Big Gaming. On a similar note, Rivers Casino Schenectady is comping training classes for table game dealers … First the good news, Macao: Golden Week visitation was up 14.5% from last year. Unfortunately, it’s still 93% below 2019 levels … New York State is getting all the headlines but Louisiana is seeing higher per capital levels of sports betting … Aristocrat Leisure failed to garner the necessary supermajority of Playtech shareholders to consummate a takeover. Aristocrat blamed stock speculators for blocking the sale … The show will go on, insists Clarion Gaming Managing Director Stuart Hunter with regard to the mammoth ICE expo in London. Defections by Scientific Games, Merkur, Zitro and TCSJohnHuxley had led many to expect that the 450-exhibitor show would be scrapped for this year. Detractors cite Omicron complications, Brexit and “the proximity of the Indian Gaming Tradeshow & Convention.” Polling shows 74% of potential attendees still planning to be at ICE.
