Category Archives: Boyd Gaming

Sex in the sky; Great month for Indiana

Posted on March 9, 2016 by David McKee

Gary Loveman‘s beloved Vegas High Roller has become Las Vegas‘ favorite place to expose oneself, with eight known instances to date. Let’s not pretend to be surprised by this. Anyway, proving that what happens here often leads to a misdemeanor … Continue reading →

Posted in Boyd Gaming, Full House Resorts, Harrah's, Indiana, Law enforcement, Majestic Star, Ohio, Penn National, Pinnacle Entertainment, Racinos, The Strip, Tropicana Entertainment, Wall Street | Comments Off

Illinois casinos stave off competition; Palms potentially for sale

Posted on March 7, 2016 by David McKee

Despite being increasingly besieged by slot routes, Illinois casinos had a good February, up 5%. Foot traffic was 3% higher and customer spending rose 2%. Two operators had revenue-negative months, with MGM Resorts International off 1% at Grand Victoria Elgin, while … Continue reading →

Posted in Boyd Gaming, Carl Icahn, Entertainment, Fontainebleau, George Maloof, GLPI, Harrah's, Illinois, Macau, MGM Mirage, Neil Bluhm, Penn National, Slot routes, Steve Wynn, The Strip, Wall Street | 2 Comments

Trump: The art of failure; Tribal gaming flexes its muscle

Posted on March 4, 2016 by David McKee

During a period (1995-2005) in which the Dow Jones Average Casino Index posted a 160% return on investment, Trump Hotels & Casinos ate dirt to the tune of a negative 89% ROI. By contrast, Boyd Gaming — unloved on Wall … Continue reading →

Posted in Boyd Gaming, Dan Gilbert, Donald Trump, Economy, Marketing, Massachusetts, Neil Bluhm, New York, Ohio, Regulation, Scientific Games, Tribal, Trump Entertainment Resorts, Wall Street | Comments Off

A Revel by any other name; Hard Rock thinks globally; Hard times for Boyd

Posted on March 2, 2016 by David McKee

What’s in a name? That’s the question confronting Glenn Straub, for whom the days are counting down until he can reopen the hotel portion of his casino with a new name. We don’t agree that Revel is a meaningless word, but … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Atlantic City, Boyd Gaming, Glenn Straub, Hard Rock International, Illinois, International, Iowa, Japan, Politics, Revel, Slot routes, Tourism, Vietnam, Warner Gaming | Comments Off

Big change for Tropicana; MGM wins in Springfield

Posted on February 24, 2016 by David McKee

Tri-State News, Weather Indiana will have a second land-based casino (three, if Majestic Star gets its way) after the Indiana Gaming Commission looked with favor on the pleas of Tropicana Entertainment and the Evansville city fathers. “That money allows us to buy … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Atlantic City, Boyd Gaming, Culinary Union, Don Barden, Economy, Indiana, Majestic Star, Massachusetts, MGM Mirage, Mississippi, Regulation, Station Casinos, Steve Wynn, The Strip, Tilman Fertitta, Tropicana Entertainment, Unite-Here | Comments Off

Seminole Christmas tree in Florida; Free money for California ponies

Posted on February 22, 2016 by David McKee

Pot or gambling? That’s the choice Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) faces in newly discovered documents from 2014, in which the Poarch Band of Creek Indians seeks a casino on a one-acre parcel near Pensacola in return of $1 billion … Continue reading →

Posted in Boyd Gaming, California, Dining, Downtown, Entertainment, Florida, Internet gambling, Politics, Tourism, Tribal | Comments Off

Wall Street loves it some Boyd; Wolf at the door

Posted on February 17, 2016 by David McKee

Boyd Gaming came out with its figures for 4Q15 and Wall Street is fairly singing the company’s praises. “We believe that BYD’s diversified, domestic regional gaming portfolio should continue to benefit from continued U.S. jobs growth and lower gas prices. … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Boyd Gaming, Downtown, Greenwood Racing, Hawaii, Internet gambling, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mohegan Sun, Pennsylvania, PokerStars, Sheldon Adelson, Taxes, Technology, Transportation, Wall Street | Comments Off

Plainridge bounces back; Unhappy new year in Louisiana

Posted on February 16, 2016 by David McKee

Penn National Gaming has been rather defensive — and understandably so — about the performance of Plainridge Park, which has seen business steadily decline from month to month. However, Penn reversed the slippage last month, increasing revenues 11%. Penn spent … Continue reading →

Posted in Boyd Gaming, Churchill Downs, Harrah's, Louisiana, Marketing, Massachusetts, Penn National, Pinnacle Entertainment, Racinos, Tilman Fertitta | Comments Off

Cruel blow to Atlantic City; Sex in the Vegas sky

Posted on February 15, 2016 by David McKee

Winter storm Jonas, which put paid to the Jan. 22-24 weekend, dealt a heavy blow to Atlantic City gaming revenues, which had finally appeared to have stabilized. The market was down 6% and Borgata ($52 million) suffered an uncharacteristic 9% … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Boyd Gaming, Environment, Harrah's, MGM Mirage, Mohegan Sun, The Strip, Tilman Fertitta, Tropicana Entertainment, Trump Entertainment Resorts | Comments Off

It’s a new day at the Cosmo; Atlantic City’s fate in Borgata’s hands

Posted on February 8, 2016 by David McKee

“The bottom line is you have a casino. Instead of downplaying that, let’s celebrate it.” That’s Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas CEO Bill McBeath outlining the besetting sin of his predecessors, ignoring the central role of gambling as the Cosmo’s revenue … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Boyd Gaming, Cosmopolitan, Entertainment, Illinois, Marketing, MGM Mirage, Regulation, Slot routes, Taxes, The Strip, Wall Street | Comments Off

Illinois beats the odds; MGM goes au naturel

Posted on February 8, 2016 by David McKee

Well, here’s a novel piece of news out of Illinois, where it always seems that gloom and doom hold sway. Gaming revenues were up 2% last month. That’s even more impressive when you consider that it’s being measured against a … Continue reading →

Posted in Boyd Gaming, Culinary Union, Entertainment, Environment, GLPI, Harrah's, Illinois, MGM Mirage, Neil Bluhm, Nevada, Penn National, Technology, The Strip, Transportation, Wall Street | Comments Off

Atlantic City omnibus

Posted on February 2, 2016 by David McKee

If Carl Icahn has his way, executives at Trump Taj Mahal may have to start updating their resumes. Tropicana Atlantic City President Anthony Rodio is expected to add the Taj to his portfolio as well. It’s well past time that inept … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Boyd Gaming, Carl Icahn, Economy, Macau, MGM Mirage, Politics, The Strip, Tropicana Entertainment, Trump Entertainment Resorts, Wall Street | Comments Off

Strip’s illusory Christmas present; A.C. Trop antes up

Posted on January 29, 2016 by David McKee

Las Vegas Strip gaming revenues were up 8% last month but Deutsche Bank analyst Carlo Santarelli is calling that headline “misleading,” the increase “purely optical.” Volume of table play was down 11% and slot coin-in was 2% less. But increased … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Boulder Strip, Boyd Gaming, Downtown, Economy, Greenwood Racing, Harrah's, Internet gambling, Lake Tahoe, Laughlin, Macau, MGM Mirage, Mohegan Sun, Neil Bluhm, Nevada, North Las Vegas, Penn National, Pennsylvania, Reno, Sheldon Adelson, Technology, The Strip, Tropicana Entertainment, Wall Street | Comments Off

Wynn, Walsh make peace; Borgata ups the ante

Posted on January 28, 2016 by David McKee

In the end, it was all about the money. In return for an extra $400,000 per year for the next 15 years, plus reimbursement of $750,000 in legal fees, Boston Mayor Martin Walsh dropped his efforts to block Wynn Everett. “We fought … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Atlantic City, Boyd Gaming, Lucky Dragon, Massachusetts, MGM Mirage, Station Casinos, Steve Wynn, Taxes, The Strip, Wall Street | Comments Off

The 7% solution; Grief in Texas

Posted on January 26, 2016 by David McKee

Woe betide the “Borgata Babe” who loses or gains more than 7% of her body weight. Do it and you’re out the door. This archaic — to say nothing of sexist — policy was passively reaffirmed when the New Jersey … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Boyd Gaming, California, Delaware, Election, Internet gambling, MGM Mirage, Problem gambling, Regulation, Sports, Texas, Vermont | Comments Off

Lean Christmas in Louisiana; Greater vigilance in industry

Posted on January 22, 2016 by David McKee

Louisiana gaming revenues came in for a hard landing (-7.5%) as the Golden Nugget Lake Charles marked its first anniversary. The New Orleans market (-13.5%) took it worst, although Lake Charles was down 12%. The latter continues to be the … Continue reading →

Posted in Boyd Gaming, Churchill Downs, Economy, GLPI, Harrah's, Isle of Capri, Louisiana, Pinnacle Entertainment, Racinos, Regulation, Tilman Fertitta, Tropicana Entertainment | Comments Off

Atlantic City: Better than expected

Posted on January 13, 2016 by David McKee

As much as one hates the term “rightsizing” or endorsing the closure of four casinos, with all the job losses those entail, the numbers say that Atlantic City‘s casino market has been reduced to optimal size. December’s revenues were down … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Boyd Gaming, Dining, Harrah's, Internet gambling, MGM Mirage, Mohegan Sun, PokerStars, The Strip, Tilman Fertitta, Tropicana Entertainment, Trump Entertainment Resorts, Wall Street | 3 Comments

Illinois down, Indiana up

Posted on January 8, 2016 by David McKee

While surrounding states prosper at their casinos, Illinois‘ continue to suffer, especially now that they must compete with slot routes. Deutsche Bank analyst Carlo Santarelli crunched the numbers and found that even though bettors were wagering 2% more, there was … Continue reading →

Posted in Ameristar, Boyd Gaming, Dan Lee, GLPI, Harrah's, Illinois, Indiana, MGM Mirage, Neil Bluhm, Penn National, Pinnacle Entertainment, Racinos, Tropicana Entertainment | Comments Off

Rage against DFS; Iowa stays stable

Posted on January 8, 2016 by David McKee

“FanDuel and DraftKings are optimized for power players to rape and pillage regular players over and over again.” So says daily fantasy sports podcaster Gabriel Harber, in the course of a lengthy New York Times expose of the DFS industry. … Continue reading →

Posted in Ameristar, Boyd Gaming, Economy, Harrah's, Internet gambling, Iowa, Isle of Capri, Massachusetts, Nevada, Pinnacle Entertainment, Regulation | Comments Off

DFS advances in Iowa, regroups in Illinois

Posted on December 31, 2015 by David McKee

Legalization of daily fantasy sports got halfway to the goal line in the 2015 Iowa Legislature. State Rep. Jake Highfill (R) hopes to get into the endzone in 2016 with a revised version of a bill that already cleared the … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Boyd Gaming, Dining, Entertainment, Glenn Straub, Illinois, Internet gambling, Iowa, MGM Mirage, New York, Regulation, Revel | Comments Off