Category Archives: Pennsylvania

Culinary loses sense of decency; Inhumanity in Macao

Posted on July 27, 2018 by David McKee

Terry Caudill and the Culinary Union have come to terms on labor pacts for Binion’s Gambling Hall and the Four Queens. The agreement awaits ratification by the 650 employees affected. In the meantime, the Culinary stepped way over the line … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, Architecture, Culinary Union, Downtown, Election, Internet gambling, Macau, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Pets, Philippines, Regulation, Station Casinos, Terry Caudill, Tribal, Washington State | Comments Off

Penn bullish on Trop; Boyd wows Wall Street

Posted on July 27, 2018 by David McKee

M Resort and Tropicana Las Vegas are no longer the charity cases of Penn National Gaming. The company made a point of lauding them during this week’s earnings call, with JP Morgan analyst Joseph Greff characterizing their performance — along … Continue reading →

Posted in Boyd Gaming, Derek Stevens, Downtown, Geoff Freeman, Illinois, Indiana, International, Las Vegas Sands, M Resort, Massachusetts, Missouri, Ohio, Penn National, Pennsylvania, Pinnacle Entertainment, Racinos, Sheldon Adelson, Slot routes, The Strip, Tribal, Wall Street | 1 Comment

MGM lauds Springfield as Mandalay Bay woes increase

Posted on July 25, 2018 by David McKee

MGM Resorts International is targeting Hartford (and five other media markets) with its initial TV spot for MGM Springfield, whose opening is now less than a month away. The ad, which you can see for yourself, has shoutouts to virtually … Continue reading →

Posted in Cirque du Soleil, Elaine Wynn, Environment, Law enforcement, Mandalay Bay Massacre, Marketing, Massachusetts, MGM Resorts International, New York, Penn National, Pennsylvania, Regulation, Reno, Rhode Island, Sexual misconduct, Sports betting, Taxes, TV, Wynn Resorts | Comments Off

Sport of kings on wobbly legs; Sports betting races ahead in N.J., N.Y., flags in Pennsylvania

Posted on July 18, 2018 by David McKee

Were it not for racinos, we’d probably be talking about the sport of kings in the past tense. Handle at racetracks has fallen 50% in the last 15 years. However, slot machines have infused a billion dollars a year, keeping … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Caesars Entertainment, Cordish Co., DFS, Dining, Greenwood Racing, Horseracing, Internet gambling, Macau, New York, Pennsylvania, Problem gambling, Racinos, Regulation, Sociedade de Jogos de Macau, Sports, Sports betting, Station Casinos, Taxes, The Strip, Tilman Fertitta | 1 Comment

The pleasant clink of coins

Posted on July 13, 2018 by David McKee

Only Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs and Lady Luck Nemacolin saw revenue declines at the slot machines last month. All other Pennsylvania casinos were revenue-positive, especially Parx Casino, up 10.5% to $35 million. Another overachiever was Valley Forge Resort Casino, … Continue reading →

Posted in Boyd Gaming, Caesars Entertainment, Charity, Churchill Downs, Eldorado Resorts, Genting, Greenwood Racing, Illinois, Las Vegas Sands, Mohegan Sun, Penn National, Pennsylvania, Pinnacle Entertainment, Rush Street Gaming, Slot routes | Comments Off

Churchill Downs deal goes south; Robocops at Pechanga

Posted on July 10, 2018 by David McKee

Early yesterday, Churchill Downs and Eldorado Resorts announced that they were deep-sixing the sale of Eldorado’s Lady Luck Vicksburg, although Churchill Downs’ purchase of Presque Isle Downs remains in play. Evidently, Churchill Downs was uncomfortable with Federal Trade Commission inquiries … Continue reading →

Posted in Arizona, Caesars Entertainment, California, Churchill Downs, Eldorado Resorts, Environment, Mandalay Bay Massacre, Marijuana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Regulation, Security, Sports betting, Technology, Tribal, Wall Street, World Series of Poker | Comments Off

The name of the game; New look at Palms

Posted on July 5, 2018 by David McKee

We don’t cover lotteries much but Pennsylvania‘s has fought the state’s casino industry to a draw. The latter would like to see iLottery (powered by Scientific Games) immobilized, viewing it as a threat to online casino gambling. The Department of … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, CityCenter, Dining, Internet gambling, Marketing, Movies, Palms, Pennsylvania, Problem gambling, Station Casinos | Comments Off

Penn outperforms in Massachusetts; Horse sense in Indiana

Posted on June 28, 2018 by David McKee

Penn National Gaming had a happy surprise for the Massachusetts Gaming Commission when the latter dropped by Plainridge Park for a look-see. The racino, which the Boston Globe long tried to paint as a failure, has just come off its … Continue reading →

Posted in Boyd Gaming, Centaur Gaming, Downtown, Economy, Eldorado Resorts, Entertainment, Harrah's, Horseracing, Indiana, International, Japan, Law enforcement, Louisiana, Marijuana, Marketing, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Penn National, Pennsylvania, Pinnacle Entertainment, Planet Hollywood, Regulation, Singapore, Taxes, The Strip, Tourism, Wall Street | Comments Off

Atlantic City primed for openings; Tokenism at AGA

Posted on June 27, 2018 by David McKee

“Do I think the gaming market ever comes back to close to $6 billion in revenue? No. Not even close,” Hard Rock International CEO Jim Allen said of Atlantic City. “If a brand like Hard Rock fails in Atlantic City, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Arizona, Atlantic City, Bruce Deifik, California, Carl Icahn, Donald Trump, Entertainment, Geoff Freeman, Hard Rock International, Harrah's, Las Vegas Sands, Marketing, MGM Mirage, New York, Pennsylvania, Revel, Rush Street Gaming, Sports, The Strip, Tribal, Trump Entertainment Resorts, Wall Street | 4 Comments

Brand-new Palace; Slide at Sands

Posted on June 25, 2018 by David McKee

Although we’ve been talking about the $192 million Palace Station do-over for months, it’s finally on display and color us dazzled. Based on the Las Vegas Review-Journal‘s photo essay, we hardly recognize the old gal, looking frisky after her nine-figure … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, DFS, Dining, Genting, Greenwood Racing, Japan, Marketing, New York, Pennsylvania, Pinnacle Entertainment, Problem gambling, Sheldon Adelson, Station Casinos, Taxes, The Strip | 1 Comment

MGM labor pact approved; Juliano resurfaces

Posted on June 21, 2018 by David McKee

It’s unknown how much of a pay increase the Culinary Union extracted from MGM Resorts International but it was enough to persuade workers to ratify the new contract. As with the Caesars Entertainment pact, workers will be issued alarm buttons … Continue reading →

Posted in Boyd Gaming, Culinary Union, Golden Gaming, Harrah's, Kansas, MGM Mirage, New York, Pennsylvania | 1 Comment

Penn, Caesars come together; Big bet in smallest state

Posted on June 19, 2018 by David McKee

Penn National Gaming swooped in and bought itself a nice little operating contract in Louisiana, the Margaritaville Casino Resort, for $115 million. Considering that the price translates to 5.5X cash flow, Penn got itself quite a bargain. It’s also a vote … Continue reading →

Posted in Boyd Gaming, Churchill Downs, Eldorado Resorts, GLPI, Harrah's, Illinois, Isle of Capri, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Pinnacle Entertainment, Politics, Regulation, Rhode Island, Sports, Taxes, Tilman Fertitta | Comments Off

Big day in New Jersey; Atlantic City slips

Posted on June 14, 2018 by David McKee

Sports betting in New Jersey will go off as planned. As I write this, Monmouth Park is 20 minutes away from taking its first wager, presumably placed on the World Cup by Gov. Phil Murphy (D). “I’m thrilled to be doing … Continue reading →

Posted in Dan Gilbert, Detroit, DFS, Eldorado Resorts, Greenwood Racing, Harrah's, Internet gambling, Isle of Capri, MGM Mirage, Mohegan Sun, Neil Bluhm, Penn National, Pennsylvania, Pinnacle Entertainment, Racinos, Sheldon Adelson, Sports, Tilman Fertitta, Tropicana Entertainment | 1 Comment

New Jersey ready for action; Strip club upstages Hard Rock

Posted on June 13, 2018 by David McKee

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) still plans to place his first sports wager at Monmouth Park tomorrow but Borgata is trying to crash the party. The megaresort issued a statement saying “we are moving ahead with all possible speed … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Delaware, Hard Rock International, Illinois, International, Internet gambling, Macau, Massachusetts, MGM Mirage, Mississippi, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Racinos, Sociedade de Jogos de Macau, Sports, Stanley Ho, Taxes, The Strip, Tilman Fertitta, Tourism, West Virginia, Wynn Resorts | 1 Comment

Churchill Downs hearts casinos; Cleveland still not rocking

Posted on June 8, 2018 by David McKee

Churchill Downs is going all-in on sports betting, planning to leverage its (soon-to-be) access to the Pennsylvania and Mississippi markets, plus its relationship with the Golden Nugget in Atlantic City. However, the sky-high tax rate (34%) in Pennsylvania may translate … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Churchill Downs, Dan Gilbert, Eldorado Resorts, GLPI, Hard Rock International, International, Kentucky, Law enforcement, Macau, MGM Mirage, Mississippi, Ohio, Penn National, Pennsylvania, Pinnacle Entertainment, Racinos, Sociedade de Jogos de Macau, Sports, Taxes, Wall Street | Comments Off

Delaware leads the way; Las Vegas tourism rebounds

Posted on June 6, 2018 by David McKee

A Delaware sports book took 36 bets in its first 20 minutes of operation yesterday, making it the first state outside Nevada to capitalize on the Supreme Court‘s recent legitimization of sports wagering. “In New York, we would go right to the … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Culinary Union, Delaware, Florida, Hard Rock International, Harrah's, MGM Mirage, Mississippi, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, Reno, Seminole Tribe, Sports, Taxes, The Strip, Tourism, Tribal, Wall Street, West Virginia | Comments Off

Mohegans sue for Wynn casino

Posted on June 4, 2018 by David McKee

Steve Wynn‘s failure to disclose a $7.5 million paternity settlement may have been the best thing that happened to Mohegan Sun‘s hopes in Massachusetts. The tribal megaresort is suing the Massachusetts Gaming Commission for failing to conduct ‘extreme vetting’ of … Continue reading →

Posted in Dan Gilbert, Delaware, Economy, Massachusetts, Mohegan Sun, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Regulation, Rhode Island, Sexual misconduct, Sports, Steve Wynn, Taxes, Wynn Resorts | Comments Off

Macao disappoints Wall Street; Tribal troubles

Posted on June 1, 2018 by David McKee

Wall Street was expecting 18.5% gaming-revenue growth out of Macao last month. It got ‘only’ 12%, the Street not having taken an abbreviated Golden Week into account. Furthermore, the enclave had a hard act to follow, its revenue having vaulted … Continue reading →

Posted in California, Dining, Economy, Foxwoods, Galaxy Entertainment, Genting, Iowa, Japan, Macau, MGM Mirage, Mohegan Sun, Nebraska, New York, Penn National, Pennsylvania, Politics, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Tourism, Tribal, Wall Street | 3 Comments

Las Vegas thrives; Palms ad backfires

Posted on May 30, 2018 by David McKee

Yesterday, we spotlit the Debbie Downer view of Las Vegas of one online columnist. And while a lengthy slide in visitation numbers remains a concern, dark and anecdotal snapshots of Sin City are contradicted by the numbers. The latter are … Continue reading →

Posted in Boyd Gaming, Cosmopolitan, Eldorado Resorts, George Maloof, Harrah's, Horseracing, Illinois, Indiana, Laughlin, Macau, Marketing, MGM Mirage, Mississippi, Palms, Pennsylvania, Politics, Racinos, Reno, Sheldon Adelson, Slot routes, Station Casinos, Tribal, Wall Street, Wynn Resorts | 2 Comments

Adversity at Sands; Paging Katniss Everdeen

Posted on May 21, 2018 by David McKee

Some are blaming bad weather for two months of substantially reduced table-games winnings at Sands Bethlehem. But could casinos in the Catskills finally be having an effect? It’s hard to say, although one suspects the answer is “yes.” Sands Bethlehem tumbled … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Bruce Deifik, California, Churchill Downs, CityCenter, Entertainment, Environment, Genting, Hard Rock International, history, International, Internet gambling, Massachusetts, MGM Mirage, Mississippi, Mohegan Sun, New York, Pennsylvania, Revel, Sheldon Adelson, Sports, The Strip, Tilman Fertitta, Transportation, Wynn Resorts | Comments Off