Wall Street analysts were rather ho-hum about International Game Technology‘s 4Q21 earnings announcement. The company’s cash flow from lotteries were almost exactly as predicted ($335.5 million, revenue of $687 million) while gaming brought in $66 million (on revenues of $321 million). The digital segment was a relative disappointment: $9 million instead of the predicted $16 million in EBITDA, while corporate costs overshot the mark, $24 million rather than the expected $19 million. Yawned Credit Suisse analyst Ben Chaiken, “We think 4Q numbers are likely good enough, with important segments (Lotto and Gaming) inline, and we think the miss on digital and corporate should be looked over.” Management continues to project as much as $4.3 billion in 2022 revenues—and why not? By and large they’re hitting their numbers. Chaiken did think it imperative that “new CEO Vincent Sadusky … establish a narrative of extrapolating hidden/underappreciated value in IGT.”
By this, Chaiken seemed to allude to additional sales of non-core assets, such as yesterday’s offloading of LIS Holding, a payment service for its Italian operations. The transaction was priced at a whopping 17.5X cash flow (“in-line with the most recent Italian transactions in this sector,” shrugged Truist Securities‘ Barry Jonas) or $784 million that IGT will employ to reduce its leverage. In addition to boosting IGT’s equity by $2/share, “we don’t believe most investors were even aware of this non-core segment,” wrote Jonas. Score one for the Sadusky team.
Turning briefly to Macao, if we must, there is both good news and bad for the casino sector. February business was up 6% from last year but a pale shadow of 2019: -69.5%. The central government continues to keep its boot on the throat of Macao’s economy. Perhaps the only consolation for operators in “Asia’s Las Vegas” (pace Sheldon Adelson) is that Wall Street analysts expected the numbers to be worse still.
New Borgata boss Travis Lunn says it’s a good thing that Hard Rock Atlantic City and Ocean Casino Resort are doing so well. Why? Because it motivates him to up his game. Lunn made these remarks in the course of announcing a big Borgata renovation. “A rising tide carries all ships; I’m a believer in that. This destination could use some reinvestment, and so to see Hard Rock come in and reinvest, and Ocean reinvest in their product, is something I’d leverage,” Lunn told Wayne Parry. Borgata’s hotel rooms haven’t had a refresh since the Obama administration and they’re a high priority with Lunn, as are new slot machines, as well as more table game tourneys. His end goal is to make Borgata a draw for those MGM customers who traditionally patronize Leo the Lion’s other resorts.
The freshly minted Borgata prexy has budgeted $10 million for new slots, which will buy him as many as 400 machines. He admitted, “Our guests come in looking for a certain gaming experience, and we currently don’t offer some of the product that our competitors offer.” As Covid-19 enters its third summer (and umpteenth mutation), Lunn is looking for group activities that will stimulate visits to Borgata. A recent blackjack competition was a signal success, inspiring him to brainstorm ways of emulating it further. Clearly, resting on its laurels wasn’t working for Borgata under Lunn’s predecessor, so we’re glad to see him loosen the purse strings and give his property new reasons for being the top choice in town.
Crown Resorts may be in good hands with owner-to-be Blackstone Group but that doesn’t mean it’s out of the woods. Blackstone’s leverage following the deal’s consummation—over 7X equity—is such that its credit rating could take a beating. There’s also the small matter of Crown’s malfeasances under James Packer‘s rogue regime. It’s been slapped with a notice of civil proccedings by AUSTRAC, described as “Australia‘s financial watchdog.” At issue are alleged violations of the Anti-Money Laundering & Counter-Terrorism Financing Act. According to Inside Asian Gaming, “The investigation was specifically focused on Crown Melbourne’s management of customers identified as high risk and politically exposed persons–also a key area of concern identified by the recent Royal Commission into Melbourne’s casino.” Crown’s response was that they saw this coming but, since they’ve cleaned up their act, everything’s hunky-dory. We’ll see.
Richmond Mayor LeVar Stoney continues to attempt to bribe his constituents into voting for that darned Urban One casino. He’s like a dog with a bone. And some of his colleagues are starting to balk. “A proposed tax cut would mean less money in our city revenue and city general fund to be able to support not only our schools but our city service needs,” said Councilor Stephanie Lynch. She wants to take the $22 million-$30 million that Stoney would give away and invest in schools instead. Meanwhile, the state Lege continues to flirt with putting a casino in Petersburg instead. If Stoney sounds like a desperate man, he probably is.
Jottings: McCormick Place has become a bone of contention in the Chicago casino debate, especially since it is coveted by three rival proposals. A new study says that space taken up by gaming would have to be offset with new convention facilities—not cheap. Incidentally, while we were in the (very) Windy City we passed the Tribune printing plant that Bally’s Corp. has dibbed as a casino site and were not impressed with the neighborhood … We’ve had serious issues with Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak (D) lately but that doesn’t warrant making physical threats and publicly insulting his wife’s ethnicity, as unhinged cretin Justin Andersch proudly did at Lindo Michoacan in Las Vegas. Assuming he’s not doing jail time for his criminal conduct, Andersch has recourse to the ballot box in November to express his disapproval. To their eternal disgrace, several GOP gubernatorial candidates applauded Andersch’s invective and threatening behavior … Puerto Rico‘s casino industry, however modest, is growing fast. Three new licenses have been issued, two for hotels still under construction and one for a $42 million gaming annex at the Aloft Hotel near Isla Grande Airport, part of a larger economic-diversification push … Two bills to approve 39 sports-betting licenses in Missouri have been introduced in the Lege. Most of the Show-Me State’s casino industry is behind the legislation, as are all six major-league sports franchises, who’d get one skin each … Remember the German heavy metal band Scorpions? They’re playing a Las Vegas residency, right up there with Katy Perry and Cheap Trick (but not Adele). The entertainment lineup in Atlantic City looks pretty wan by comparison … Casinos in Manila reopen at full capacity today, albeit with face-mask and vaccination mandates. This regimen will be reassessed in two weeks … Giddy with the returns from online sports betting, New York State lawmakers are hankering for Internet casinos. The terrestrial casino industry would be buffered by having exclusive access to the Web skins. Sounds fine to us.
Quote of the Day: “It is a duty to take this risk, to love and feel without defense or reserve.”—writer and cult figure William S. Burroughs.
MGM Borgata: I hope Travis doesn’t change the carpet, which is very distinctive roses and gold rings (rather than the usual casino loud colors and patterns). Both Biloxi & Tunica (where he came from) have a near total lack of entertainment, perhaps AC could end up that way.