Gilbert sells to Hard Rock; Masters odds are out
Hard Rock International exited the Ohio market by one door, then reentered it by another. The tribal giant bought Dan Gilbert out of Jack Cincinnati and Turfway Park. REIT Vici Propreties will own the real estate of the casino and racetrack, while Hard Rock gets the management contracts, part of an increasing trend in the casino 
world. The deal leaves Gilbert still in control of Jack Cleveland, racino Jack Thistledown and with a minority stake in Jack Baltimore. If Gilbert is playing one side off the other to get the best deal a la carte I’d saying it’s a winning strategy. It also explains why Hard Rock was not only so tractable to selling Northfield Park but were quick to take their name off the racino. The deal is valued at $780 million. Now let’s rid of that ridiculous “Jack” brand, which reeks of douchebaggery.
* It’s Masters Week in Augusta and online sports-betting shops are having a field day, especially on anything involving Tiger Woods, even though he has ceased to
Winner and he’s favored to win the annual run for the roses at Churchill Downs. At least that’s what Kentucky Derby Online Betting says. KDOB predicts the following order of finish:
the casino over her dismissal, which she alleges followed her complaints about sexual discrimination and retaliation. After booking a nightclub act that drew a largely African-American clientele, Carpenter says the casino’s general manager told her to never again “book a nightclub event for all black people.” She also charges the casino with firing her as relation for a workmen’s-comp filing. Carpenter says she was told she was not a “
found the Promised Land in Las Vegas, where he hopes to take a run at the boutique-hotel concept. His planned Astral would sit opposite Mandalay Bay (where Motel 8 is now) and rise 34 stories. Budgeted at $350 million, tops, it would Astral would feature a rooftop pool and sky lobby, as well as the de riguer nightclub. No word on gaming amenities, though we’re sure they’d be needed to make this gamble pay. Gabay is planning to launch Astral after the arrival of the nearby Las Vegas Raiders, prompting HREC Investment Advisors broker Josh Smith to tell the Las Vegas Review-Journal, “If he times it just right and has the right business model, it’ll have some success.”
imposition of a smoking ban in Red Stick, casinos’ business has been 17% lower, a business catastrophe. Belle of Baton Rouge collapsed 43%, hitting $2.6 million and putting Eldorado Resorts in a world of hurt. By that measure the other casinos could be almost said to be doing well: Casino Rouge shed 15% ($4.5 million) and L’Auberge Baton Rouge tumbled 12% ($12 million gross).
who’s a seasoned executive, someone who has certainly managed through turbulent times, adversity and been able to be tested,” he said during the most recent earnings call, which must have been painful for him to reveal. Also, after indicating that it wasn’t interested in a Caesars takeover, MGM Resorts International has reversed field and is playing Monopoly with its REIT, MGM Growth Properties, shuffling properties and cash back and forth to make room on the books for a Caesars takeover.
action after receiving advice from our legal counsel, and the necessary assurances from investigators that this commission will receive all material and substantive information required to make a fully informed decision” on the fate of Encore Boston Harbor, said MGC Chairwoman Cathy Judd-Stein, 
logo going up on the Green Monster, giving me visions of doubles plonking off the MGM lion. At least it’s a step up from sponsoring the perennially hopeless New York Jets. Other kudos go to MGM for making the list of Fast Company‘s “Most Innovative Companies.” And happy anniversary to Beau Rivage on the 20th anniversary of its rather shaky start in Biloxi. MGM’s 
daughters not involved in the gaming biz. Now, i
legalized. Losers so far are the state’s horse racing industry and the Iowa Lottery. Lawmakers have to sift through 
Hill to make his $700 million casino project in reality. To put that in perspective, it makes Rush Street Gaming the third-highest-paying supplicant in the capital last year. Only Partners HealthCare and MassBio 
the work force. The bad news? Hiring remains otherwise stagnant, with Hard Rock and Ocean Resort both trimming their work forces by about 15% as the year wore on. Economic analyst Jim Kennedy, late of the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority cautioned that all the hiring has not translated into a wider economic benefit, such as housing starts or non-casino jobs. “When you hire the numbers of employees that we’ve seen at the two new casinos, there are usually secondary benefits. None of that has happened,” Kennedy told The Press of Atlantic City.
the Department of the Interior for not signing off on the project, which 
opened in the teeth of the Great Recession, “the past recession saw supply growth and increased competition at the trough.” Also, “Vegas gaming revenues were structurally higher as there wasn’t as much regional and Native American competition as today.” Of all Vegas-centric stocks, McKnight favors Caesars Entertainment most, writing, “we like its more defensive domestic gaming-focused business, its mix of regional and Vegas assets, significantly undervalued real estate, potential share gains in Vegas, growth from renovated assets, and potential activist and corporate interest.” He adds that investors are not so enthusiastic, waiting and seeing how the CEO change plays out, and concerned about how highly leveraged the company remains.
supposedly demanded the change but was sensible enough to leave casino prexy Frank Leone in place. The last thing that Ocean needs now is a learn-on-the-job managerial team. The new owner of Deifik’s share 
cantered past it to a $21 million finish, gaining 4.5%. Hoosier Park surged 12.5% to $16 million. Biggest gainer of all was French Lick Resort, up 14.5% to $9 million. Tropicana Evansville and Hollywood Lawrenceburg were flat, for $13 million and $15.5 million respectively. Rising Sun set 2%, to $4 million, while Boyd Gaming was pushing the right buttons at Belterra, up 5% to $10 million. In the northern tier of the Hoosier State, Horseshoe Hammond was becalmed but still pulled in $32 million. Primary rival Ameristar East Chicago gained 10% on the competition to finish at $19.5 million. Blue Chip continues to rebound from tribal competition at Four Winds Casino. For December it was up 7.5% to $13 million. As for the two Majestic Star boats, the first lost 
been played. Ooops. The Clemson Tigers proceeded to maul the Tide and add that $400,000 insult to the injury of FanDuel having to pay everyone sagacious enough to have bet on Clemson to win. Shades of FanDuel parent Paddy Power‘s rash decision in 2016 to pay $1 million ahead of time to punters who had Hillary Clinton winning the presidency. FanDuel