All Atlantic City, all the time; Bally’s blunder

Casino winnings in Atlantic City dipped a bit last month, down 1.5% to $231.5 million. Slot revenues led the way, down 3% on flat coin-in. Table games actually did better, up 3% despite flat wagering but A.C. is a slot player’s town. Only less weekend day this year didn’t help, either. Only two casinos were revenue-positive in April: The Golden Nugget courted enough low rollers to gain 6.5% to $13 million, while Ocean Casino Resort surged 30% to reach $34 million, hard on the trail of Hard Rock Atlantic City ($39 million, -4.5%). New-look Borgata sputtered somewhat, down 6% to $58 million, still good enough to kick everyone else’s patootie. Last place went to Resorts Atlantic City, tumbling 13% to $12.5 million. Golden Nugget’s uptick wasn’t enough to overtake Bally’s Atlantic City ($14 million), in spite of the latter’s 4% setback. That leaves the Caesars Entertainment threesome, with Caesars Atlantic City (-3%) and Tropicana Atlantic City (-13%) all knotted up at $19.5 million. No surprise, Harrah’s Resort did best with $21.5 million, although it dipped 6%.

So much for terrestrial gambling. Internet casinos, brought in $159 million (+16% year/year), led by DraftKings with $58.5 million. Other standouts were BetMGM ($43 million), FanDuel ($17 million) and Caesars ($14 million). Caesars outdone by FanDuel at casino games? Say not so! As for sports betting, it yielded revenue of $72 million on $846 million in handle, a substantial increase in capture to the bottom line despite 9% less wagering. This time FanDuel was out front with $34 million, followed by DraftKings ($19.5 million), BetMGM ($6.5 million), Barstool Sports ($2.5 million) and Caesars Sportsbook, teetering on the cusp of invisibility at $1 million.

Back on the Boardwalk, Bart Blatstein‘s Showboat redevelopment promises something for everybody. However, the current emphasis is on adults-only amenities: Cabañas, Peloton machines, pedicure stations, swim-up bars, as well as unspecified “nightlife.” Come for the waterpark, stay for the dissipation? If April was good for Bally’s A.C., May should be even better. Our Atlantic City correspondent reports that the casino was “exceptionally busy” on a 5X points weekend. That’s the right idea, Bally’s, don’t sweat the comps and they will come.

Our man was less impressed by the ongoing makeover of Borgata. Regarding the removal of the Water Club marquee (top), he writes, “It looks like they don’t have a rooftop door on one side, and had to lift the scaffolding over the top of the roof ridge from the other side. And had to bring all that stuff up the service elevator, what a task! Inside our room, one of the two chairs was worn out. When Boyd Gaming and MGM Resorts International owned this casino together, that chair would have been considered trash and removed. In the bathroom, the shower head needs replacement, as some of the water shoots out over the top of the shower and makes a very large puddle from the shower to the toilet. Guess MGM can’t afford to replace anything.” Oh, it can. It simply chooses not to.

“At Golden Nugget’s soon-to-be Dos Caminos, little progress has been made. Where you can see in, it looks like some wallpaper on one wall, little else. At the marble-floor entrance, the word ‘Grotto’ is in the floor. Can’t wait to see if they tear up part of the marble flooring. My guess is it will stay there. I also found out Golden Nugget has another lounge on the 22nd floor of the hotel tower called the ‘Presidents Lounge’ for their top-tier players. Interesting that they have no signs anywhere that mention it. A secret lounge for the select few.” The Nugget a high-roller hideaway? Who’da thunk it?

Perhaps chagrined by its April performance, Resorts A.C. rolled out a George offer on suites (we could call it a “suite offer” but that would be cheesy). In addition to knocking the price on room bookings from $165/night to $99, Resorts comped those taking the offer to suite upgrades. Free parking and a $25 F&B credit were also thrown in. We like the way Mohegan Sun’s managerial team taking this bull by the horns. The entertainment calendar at Resorts is pretty lean, unless The Golden Girls Murder Mystery is your thing. But give management credit for wooing customers with room bargains and meanwhile we’ll hang in there until that June 23rd Fifth Dimension concert.

Also doing its bit for Atlantic City is Ocean Resort. It bought its own sand to repair beach erosion opposite the casino. They could have waited for Uncle Sam to do it … but that would have taken until next year (maybe longer if Kevin McCarthy gets his way with the federal budget). No, Ocean wanted to get on it with and quickly, invested $700,000 in the cause. Good on the Marian Illitch family, owners of Ocean.

Bally’s Corp. really stepped in it on the Las Vegas Strip. Following its “binding agreement” with the Oakland Athletics, Trop (mis)management sent a letter to all employees via social media, sacking them en masse as part of a plan to demolish the venerable casino-resort 18 months to two years hence. (Good luck finding new hires during the interim.) Such a lead balloon was this that Bally’s rushed out a quasi-retraction, un-sacking the sackings. “The FAQ circulated yesterday was issued prematurely and was inaccurate. The FAQ issued today accurately conveys the current situation. The plans regarding the recently announced agreement with the Oakland Athletics are in very preliminary stages, and our focus at this time is on continuing to operate the Tropicana. We will be prepared to support Tropicana employees if and when the need should arise,” said a Bally’s mouthpiece.

In the process of dropping the guillotine on staff (all at once, rather than with a phased shutdown—although Chairman Soo Kim says otherwise), Bally’s rather naively hoped long-suffering Trop workers would “continue your employment with us for as long as practically possible.” The cream of the jest came when Bally’s bosses declared, “If we need to close, employees will have an opportunity to find employment across the Bally’s portfolio.” That’s a good one, seeing as Bally’s has no casinos closer than Lake Tahoe—where affordable housing is an oxymoron.

Internet gambling was as big in Michigan last month as in New Jersey, engendering $159 million in win. BetMGM’s $51 million put it in front, ahead of DraftKings ($35 million), FanDuel ($31 million), BetRivers ($8 million), Caesars ($9 million), WynnBet ($6 million) and Barstool ($4 million). Sports betting delivered $36 million from $323 million in handle. Crapping out were FourWinds, WynnBet, Parx, BetRivers, FoxBet, Caesars Sportsbook, PointsBet, Barstool and Bet America. Spoils went to BetMGM ($6.5 million), FanDuel ($17.5 million), DraftKings ($9 million) and practically no one else. Detroit‘s casinos have become almost an afterthought but they were good for $109.5 million last month, as MGM Grand Detroit tumbled 12% to $50 million, while Hollywood Detroit was lifted 6% to $25 million, leaving Motor City with just over $34 million.