Category Archives: Wall Street

Clashing views on MGM; Shotgun wedding in Pennsylvania

Posted on October 30, 2014 by David McKee

MGM Resorts International‘s third quarter was “better than expected” if you were J.P. Morgan analyst Joseph Greff and “disappointing” if you are Deutsche Bank‘s Carlo Santarelli. It’s a matter of how MGM performed relative to analyst forecasts. While the Las Vegas Strip … Continue reading →

Posted in Cannery Casino Resorts, CityCenter, Detroit, GLPI, Harrah's, Macau, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, The Strip, Wall Street | Comments Off

Wynn confounded; Sands gets tough

Posted on October 29, 2014 by David McKee

During yesterday’s call with gaming analysts, Steve Wynn admitted to being “confused” by a Macao gaming market where revenues in October could fall 20%-23%. “The new regulations in smoking, the turmoil in Hong Kong lately, in the month of October, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Macau, Massachusetts, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Steve Wynn, Tourism, Wall Street | Comments Off

Caesars’ shell game; Setback in Japan

Posted on October 21, 2014 by David McKee

“Extend and pretend.” Those are the words of gaming analyst Alan Woinski, describing the debt-management practices of Caesars Entertainment and CEO Gary Loveman: “they extended out the maturities and just put new debt on top of old debt, and the … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Harrah's, Internet gambling, Japan, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Politics, Problem gambling, Technology, The Strip, Wall Street | 1 Comment

A renaissance for Atlantic City?

Posted on October 17, 2014 by David McKee

If Gary Green set out to stir debate with his Casino Journal polemic on Atlantic City, he could hardly have succeeded better. For Green, the glass is considerably more than half-full and the Boardwalk is “healthy, viable and sound.” In … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Boyd Gaming, Colony Capital, Current, Economy, Glenn Straub, Harrah's, Maryland, MGM Mirage, Revel, Trump Entertainment Resorts, Wall Street | Comments Off

Caesars flirts with Chapter 11; MGM sells relic

Posted on October 17, 2014 by David McKee

Caesars Entertainment CEO Gary Loveman has as much as said bankruptcy would happen over his dead body. Funeral services may be held in January. Caesars, y’see, has filed for an amendment on its debt that would give senior bondholders first … Continue reading →

Posted in Harrah's, Herbst Gaming, Illinois, MGM Mirage, Regulation, Slot routes, Wall Street | Comments Off

Packer’s complaint; Bally bloodbath

Posted on October 16, 2014 by David McKee

James Packer‘s run of bad luck has crossed the Pacific Ocean and infected his Australian casinos. Faced with soft numbers at Crown Resorts, he blamed players, exclaiming, “The punters are killing us!” Packer was also put on the defensive by … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Bally Technologies, Economy, International, James Packer, Sam Nazarian, Scientific Games, The Strip, Wall Street, Westgate LV | Comments Off

Atlantic City: Which way is up?; Sheldon Adelson, prophet

Posted on October 16, 2014 by David McKee

Unburdened of four unprofitable casinos, if the revenue in Atlantic City is counted on a “same store” basis (i.e., leaving Revel, Showboat, the Atlantic Club and Trump Plaza out of the picture), the Boardwalk actually saw a 4% increase in … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Boyd Gaming, Colony Capital, G2E, Harrah's, International, Internet gambling, Japan, Macau, Maryland, Mohegan Sun, Revel, Sheldon Adelson, Trump Entertainment Resorts, Wall Street | 1 Comment

Life after Revel; Sheldon’s solid quarter

Posted on October 15, 2014 by David McKee

Faced with fewer and fewer casino choices in Atlantic City, players seem to be choosing to stay home. The seaside city saw gaming revenues plummet 17% last month. That’s also the same percentage by which coin-in and slot revenues slipped. … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Boyd Gaming, Economy, Florida, Harrah's, Internet gambling, Macau, MGM Mirage, Mohegan Sun, Pennsylvania, Revel, Sheldon Adelson, Singapore, The Strip, Tropicana Entertainment, Trump Entertainment Resorts, Wall Street | 2 Comments

Showdown at Chukchansi; Turnover at Caesars

Posted on October 14, 2014 by David McKee

As though the Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino didn’t have enough problems, it’s been closed following an armed confrontation on the casino floor. U.S. District Judge Lawrence O’Neill ordered the shutdown, seconded by the National Indian Gaming Commission, which deemed … Continue reading →

Posted in California, Election, Harrah's, Massachusetts, MGM Mirage, Regulation, Tribal, TV, Wall Street | Comments Off

Show Me some results; Wynn vindicated

Posted on October 10, 2014 by David McKee

Wall Street analysts expressed disappointment with last month’s gaming revenues from Missouri. Even a 5% increase in spending couldn’t offset an 8% decline in foot traffic. A bright spot was that, for the quarter, Pinnacle Entertainment beat J.P. Morgan analyst … Continue reading →

Posted in Economy, Harrah's, Isle of Capri, Japan, Kansas, Massachusetts, Missouri, Mohegan Sun, Penn National, Pinnacle Entertainment, Regulation, Singapore, Steve Wynn, Wall Street | Comments Off

Ivey loses & sundry Case Bets

Posted on October 9, 2014 by David McKee

Phil Ivey won’t be edge-sorting cards anytime soon. A British judge has ruled that, whether he knew it or not, Ivey was cheating when he won $12 million at Crockfords, a Genting Group casino in London. “He gave himself an advantage … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, California, Columbia Sussex, Election, Genting, Indiana, International, Japan, Lake Tahoe, Ohio, Penn National, Pinnacle Entertainment, Regulation, Station Casinos, Taxes, Tourism, Tribal, Wall Street, Warner Gaming | Comments Off

Ohio: Success and saturation; The many excuses of Glenn Straub

Posted on October 7, 2014 by David McKee

Now that all four casinos and seven racinos are open, Ohio posted a spectacular year/year increase of 36% in gambling revenue. However, success came at a price, in terms of an 8% decline in same-store revenue, indicative of a saturated … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Glenn Straub, Hard Rock International, Harrah's, MTR Gaming, Ohio, Penn National, Racinos, Revel, Wall Street | Comments Off

Macao glass half-full

Posted on October 7, 2014 by David McKee

Although U.S. casino executives are whooping it up that anti-corruption probes are being curtailed in China, the damage continues to be done, judging by last month’s numbers in the VIP sector. The latter was down 26% while mass market play … Continue reading →

Posted in IGT, Japan, Macau, MGM Mirage, Rhode Island, Sheldon Adelson, Stanley Ho, Technology, Wall Street | Comments Off

Atlantic City: Dim hopes and massive debts

Posted on October 2, 2014 by David McKee

Brookfield Property Partners, new owners of Revel is planning to get back into the casino wars in Atlantic City. “Revel is a brand-new trophy asset on the beachfront, which we are acquiring at a substantial discount to replacement cost. We are excited about … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Carl Icahn, Economy, Glenn Straub, Hard Rock Hotel, International, Revel, Trump Entertainment Resorts, Wall Street | 1 Comment

Sinatra 1, Pandas 0

Posted on October 2, 2014 by David McKee

Euphemisms have a way of sanitizing everything. For instance, there are no longer mercenaries — instead they are “contractors,” which makes them sound like somebody you’d have install your pool deck. And in Las Vegas we don’t have celebrity impersonators, we … Continue reading →

Posted in Cirque du Soleil, Entertainment, G2E, Massachusetts, Penn National, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, The Strip, Wall Street | Comments Off

Sanguine at Penn; Serrano goes Italian

Posted on October 1, 2014 by David McKee

Executives from Penn National Gaming were hosted by J.P. Morgan analysts this week at Global Gaming Expo and gave a fairly mellow outlook on business. Nationally, commerce is seen as stabilizing but not having bottomed out yet, although Penn is “holding … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Dining, Election, G2E, Harrah's, history, Maryland, Massachusetts, MGM Mirage, New York, Ohio, Penn National, Politics, Racinos, Regulation, Steve Wynn, The Strip, Wall Street, West Virginia | Comments Off

Boyd, Pinnacle speak

Posted on September 29, 2014 by David McKee

Both Boyd Gaming and Pinnacle Entertainment met with Wall Street analysts this week, everybody being in town for Global Gaming Expo. Boyd CEO Keith Smith and CFO John Hirsberg said they saw an abatement in negative business trends, now confined … Continue reading →

Posted in Ameristar, Arizona, Atlantic City, Boyd Gaming, Downtown, Louisiana, Ohio, Penn National, Pinnacle Entertainment, Racinos, Tilman Fertitta, Tribal, Wall Street | Comments Off

USA Today: Those evil casinos!

Posted on September 26, 2014 by David McKee

With the gaming industry temporarily exhausted from over-expansion and saturation, USA Today has chosen this moment to pounce with an anti-gambling editorial. The graybeards on the USA Today editorial board clearly haven’t been paying close attention — racinos in Delaware, … Continue reading →

Posted in Boulder Strip, Boyd Gaming, Cretins, Delaware, Downtown, Economy, Geoff Freeman, Lake Tahoe, Laughlin, Neil Bluhm, North Las Vegas, Pennsylvania, Reno, The Strip, Tourism, Wall Street | Comments Off

Bad news in New York and Macao

Posted on September 22, 2014 by David McKee

In a setback for all regions of New York State that are eligible for a casino (or two), the casino-siting board has made it clear it’s taking a serious look at the “up to four” clause in the licensing process. … Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, California, Economy, Illinois, Internet gambling, Macau, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Regulation, Wall Street, West Virginia | Comments Off

Why is this man smiling?; The daffy world of Glenn Straub

Posted on September 19, 2014 by David McKee

“Restructure! Restructure! Restructure! That’s all he ever does because that’s all he can do!” That was a friend of mine, speaking in exasperation of Donald Trump. However, today the remark could be updated to refer to Gary Loveman. The CEO … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Atlantic City, Donald Trump, Glenn Straub, Harrah's, IGT, Maryland, Massachusetts, MGM Mirage, Revel, Transportation, Wall Street | 1 Comment