Coronavirus is spreading like wildfire. Not only has it cropped up in Beijing, Hong Kong (uh-oh) and Shanghai, cases are being reported in Taiwan, Thailand, France, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and our own 
United States. China President Xi Jinping has taken various safety precautions, including cracking down on animal markets, which are believed to be instrumental in spreading the disease. Tour groups are being temporarily shut down, while Chinese New Year is being extended to incentivize people to stay at home. The U.S. government, meanwhile, has waffled on getting diplomats and private citizens out of the “hot zone.”
None of this has been good news for Macao, to say nothing of the incredibly unfortunate timing. On Saturday, Deutsche Bank analyst Carlo Santarelli reported that tourism to Macao was down 50% (-55% from mainland China). By Monday that number had worsened to 60% (80% fewer mainland tourists), with the figures spiraling downwards. Talks of temporarily shutting down the casinos are still on the table, too. We thought this health scare would be bad for Macao but we understated the immensity of the problem. Protecting the health of the Macanese has to be Priority One but that’s going to be a bitter dose of medicine for casinos to swallow.
* Speaking of bad news, the Las Vegas Raiders got some from WalletHub today. (The surprising results are here.) Las Vegas was deemed the seventh-worst large city for NFL fans. (Now that Sin City has an Ikea it can no longer claim to be a small city.) What’s to blame? UNLV football, that’s what. The Runnin’ Rebels are 183rd in performance level, 148th in minimum season-ticket price, 215th in stadium capacity and 217th in fan engagement. We’re confident the Silver & Black can improve on those numbers, provided that games have fan-friendly pricing. The best city for NFL football? Pittsburgh. Go Steelers!
Meanwhile, with sports betting fanning out across the nation, Las Vegas sports books evidently have come to the conclusion that they have to up their game to appeal to fans. As gaming historian David G. Schwartz 
told the New York Times, “People now come to sports books not as a place with weird numbers. They actually understand it.” Circa‘s three-story sports book has already been well chronicled. Bellagio and Park MGM are also rethinking their presentation. Explained George Kliavkoff, the president of entertainment and sports at MGM Resorts International, “It was rows of seats facing the TVs and tellers. We’re rethinking them to be more entertaining and engaging sports bars that happen to be a place you can place a bet.” For instance, Park MGM has instituted a tailgate menu at Moneyline Sports Bar & Book. We’re sure MGM won’t be the last to present a revamped sports-book product.
* If you wanted to play slots at Jerry’s Nugget last week you were SOL. A Wednesday computer hack crippled the casino (and is rumored to have struck some Station Casinos properties as well). A customer reports that not only were the slots down, the coffee shop could only take cash and there was no ETA for when the problems could be fixed. Silver lining: Table games were still operational. Time to break out the faro wheel!
* Twin River has closed its purchase of the Golden Gates, Golden Gulch and Mardi Gras casinos in Black Hawk, Colorado. Previous owner Affinity Gaming, whose bread and butter is slot routes, offloaded the assets for $51 million. That purchase price includes three sports-betting licenses. Twin River already owns a horse racing track in Colorado, and is now 20 table games and 700 slots richer.
* I have no words for the tragic death of Kobe Bryant and daughter Gianna (and their fellow helicopter passengers) so I’ll let Tara Sullivan speak instead. Derek Stevens‘ casinos and Resorts Atlantic City held a moratorium on NBA bets, in Bryant’s memory.
Jottings: Video-arcade veterans, take note. Next Gaming has reimagined Asteroids as a skill-based slot. That ought to be popular … Pending a “potential labor dispute” the Golden Nugget is advertising for scabs. Available positions include everything from valet to slot technician and general engineer. Sounds like Tilman Fertitta is hunkering down for a fight … There’s big takeover buzz surrounding DraftKings before it has even completed its plan to go public. Why not? It’s a one-stop-shop for your sports-betting needs … Legislation has been filed in New Jersey to rescind Atlantic City‘s casino monopoly. It’s probably a long shot but, if it prevails, it will mean disaster for the Boardwalk within a few years. We’ll be tracking this story as it develops.
