Caesars Entertainment got a vote of confidence from JP Morgan analyst Daniel Politzer today, largely on the strength of its regional portfolio, as well as its potency in the sports-betting sphere. Regional trends were described as “better than expected,” and companies with exposure in the sports betting and Internet gaming markets are being looked upon favorably by Wall Street. Where Politzer thought regional markets would be down -20%-30% in midsummer they’re only 10% off last year’s pace. “Sports betting/iGaming has emerged as a key part CZR’s investment thesis, and we see various positive catalysts in the coming months: (1) record sports betting revenue in September, (2) resumption of college football in the SEC, Big 10, and Pac-12, (3) legislative sessions/referendums in several states to legalize sports betting, and (4) iGaming could accelerate given colder weather and crowd avoidance during cold/flu season.” The only downside was that destination markets like the Las Vegas Strip, Atlantic City, Reno, Laughlin and New Orleans “are all still seeing soft demand.”
AC: can understand why demand is soft in AC: lack of concern for customer cleanliness. At Hard Rock, recently we saw Adam (the manager of their “esteemed” Kuro) while he was working at YOUYU restaurant wipe down tables (next to us) with water and paper towels – that is not “sanitize”. When we picked up our car at their valet, there was no plastic on the driver seat. When I asked the valet why not, his reply was “it’s not my job” – nice attitude. Hey Joe Lupo – hope you read this, it could be a cold winter and empty casino if you don’t clean up your act!