Casinos in Atlantic City were up 2% in August, reaching $280 million. Slot winnings were 3% higher, on a commensurate increase in coin-in. The gambling halls weren’t so lucky at the tables, where 5% higher wagering translated into flat win. There were a few have-nots, with Bally’s Atlantic City ($15 million), Tropicana Atlantic City ($25 million) and Resorts Atlantic City ($17.5 million) all slipping 4.5%, while Harrah’s Resort ($24.5 million) ceded 2%. Both Hard Rock Atlantic City ($51 million, +11%) and Ocean Casino Resort ($39.5 million, +8%) were turbocharged, and put even further distance between themselves and the Caesars Entertainment threesome. The only one of the latter to post a gain was Caesars Atlantic City ($22 million), up 1.5%. Borgata, of course, was the dominant property with $73 million to its name, a 1.5% uptick. Golden Nugget remained stuck in last place with $13 million but also gained 1.5%.
Internet gambling (+18%) and sports betting (+47%) both vaulted, the latter surely galvanized by the return of college football. I-gaming brought in $155 million, with DraftKings ($58.5 million) besting BetMGM ($40 million). Well back were FanDuel ($16 million) and Caesars ($12 million). Sports betting engendered $96 million in revenue from $713 million in handle, with DraftKings again predominant, winning $54.5 million (a record) to FanDuel’s $23 million. BetMGM won $5 million and Caesars Sportsbook $1 million.
Why shoot a movie in well-equipped New York City when you could do it just off the Boardwalk? As our Atlantic City correspondent reports, that’s just what is being proposed: “the pier involved was formerly The Pier at Caesars, which was not doing well. Bart Blatstein purchased the leasehold rights and transformed it into The Playground. He and his partners spent tens of millions. I went through it once when it first opened. It had a lot of bars. I went into the one of the bars at the end of the pier. It was me, one customer, one bartender and one drink server. I had to wait 10 minutes for a drink. I didn’t go back. Bart sold it back to Caesars at a huge loss. The place became empty, including their last two ‘high end’ restaurants.” So now it’s to become soundstages? That’s a pretty loopy idea, especially when the surf is high (and making lots of noise). It’s even crazier than trying to kick start a movie industry in Las Vegas, as happened recently. But Atlantic City has never been short on daffy notions.
Scurrying to put distance between itself and embattled Resorts World Las Vegas President Scott Sibella, casino owner Genting Group threw him to the wolves Friday. Perhaps Genting thought that by doing so under the cloak of the end of the news cycle, no one in the media would notice. If so, they miscalculated. Rather extraordinarily, Genting admitted that Sibella had “violated company policies and the terms of his employment.” Such admissions of culpability are unheard-of in the gaming world. Accompanying the news was a tidal wave of Schadenfreude which strongly suggests that Sibella learned little or no empathy for the little guy during his buffoonish appearance on the Undercover Boss series. (And don’t get us started on that made-for-TV farce, which is still described by the mass media as though the fix wasn’t in.)
Genting further admitted that it “was recently made aware” of Sibella’s derelictions, probably by federal investigators who have been on the case. The ousted prexy had sailed pretty close to the wind during his tenure and, as Vital Vegas pithily put it, “Where there’s smoke, there’s a firing.” Local media chose to stress Sibella’s achievements in getting Resorts World LV finished and open during the Covid-19 pandemic (with more than a little help from Genting whipping boy Steve Sisolak). The Las Vegas Review-Journal seemed to think that Sibella’s downfall came from the soured relationship between the executive and gambler Brandon Sattler. However, a more logical and proximate cause was the federal probe into a gambling ring run by former Oakland A’s prospect Wayne Nix—funny how that rancid baseball team has already become intertwined with Las Vegas’ biggest scandal in years. Nix has pled guilty to federal charges and may have fingered Sibella, too.
Both Homeland Security and the IRS are reported to be on the case, which doesn’t bode well for either Sibella or Genting, although the latter has been described as endeavoring to maintain distance between itself and its Las Vegas Strip outpost. (Would that constitute willful ignorance?) Speaking of the willfully ignorant, the Nevada Gaming Control Board is a laughinstock in last weekend’s news, having snoozed while the feds were running up their back. “Gold standard,” our ass! The Nevada Independent’s John L. Smith is particularly scathing about the NGCB’s supine performance, including its blindness to Sibella’s fondness for doing business with Mob associates and letting convicted felon Robert Alexander gamble at Resorts World. Then there’s the small matter of employees “misusing complimentary casino privileges and promotional chips to pay off personal gambling debts.” Gaming Control missed that one altogether.
By flinging Sibella over the side, Genting not only lightens the ship, it gives it a premise to reboot at least certain aspects of Resorts World LV, widely perceived to be underperforming, despite generous media coverage. (The NGCB might also trim ballast by losing Sibella apologist George Assad, who’s getting a well-merited scourging in local media right now.) The most publicized troubles involve the resort’s nightlife program, plagued with incidences of arrant stupidity and presided over by the same guy who ran the aptly named Kaos at the Palms, long since defunct. Genting has to be hoping it’s excised the cancer and cauterized the wound but we think we’ve heard far from the last of this story.
Did Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay have money riding on yesterday’s loss to the San Francisco 49ers? You have to wonder, given McVay’s head-scratching decision to order a field goal kick with four seconds left on the game clock, rather than one, last, desperate Hail Mary. (Hey, it almost worked for the Denver Broncos.) The three-point try had scant effect on the final outcome but did wonders for some sports books, wrought havoc with others. The Rams still lost—but Rams bettors won. By shaving three points from Frisco’s margin of victory, McVay ensured that the 49ers failed to cover the spread. As Red Rock Resort betting supremo Chuck Esposito said, “The fact that they kicked a field goal knowing time would run out when they did it was a huge swing for us.”
Not so happy was South Point bookie-in-chief Chris Andrews. “The Rams’ field goal at the end killed us,” he told NBC Sports. Should the NFL be investigating this suspicious stat? We think so. In other league news of local import, the Las Vegas Raiders got a reality check in the form of a 28-point pasting by the Buffalo Bills. Look for the Silver & Black to get well next week against the rebuilding—to put it kindly—Pittsburgh Steelers.
Jottings: Although all but paralyzed by a cyber attack last week, MGM Resorts International wasn’t too busy to pat itself on the back. “Our resorts, including dining, entertainment and gaming, are currently operational, and continue to deliver the experiences for which MGM is known,” bloviated a PR statement. We wonder if last week’s guests want to sign up for more such “experiences” … In a splashy investor note, J.P. Morgan analyst Joseph Greff opines that Wynn Al Marjan Island, currently in progress, will enhance Wynn Resorts‘ share price by $10 a pop. He opines that “contentious issues such as alcohol and women’s rights have seen historic changes in regulation, while cities such have Dubai have seen drastic shifts toward westernizing, attracting tourists and residents from around the globe.” … As International Game Technology stock soared, Truist Securities analyst Barry Jonas concluded that IGT’s long term goals “look achievable.” In a seemingly perverse move, the company is mulling the sale of its namesake slot division, parent of the ultra-popular Wheel of Fortune game … Fanatics Sportsbook has emphasized the obvious, so far. But the company is branching out to where the real money is (online casinos) and hopes to be operational in that sphere by year’s end … On a lighter note, our ursine brothers love Krispy Kreme doughnuts as much as we do—especially the donut holes.
Quote of the Day: “The responsibility goes much higher than casinos being held accountable. I think greedy entities who are in charge of regulation and approval (government lobbyist, local good old boys who are being paid off for approval sites) need reining in.”—Substack columnist and casino dealer Patti Petersen, on the compulsive-gambling problem.
