Cordish bully on Philly

We’ll soon find out if the Philadelphia market can sustain five casinos when Cordish Gaming‘s Live! Casino & Hotel Philadelphia opens, next door to Citizens Bank Park (baseball) and close to Lincoln Financial Field
(football) and Wells Fargo Center (basketball and hockey). Mind you, such a location was thought to be gangbusters for Horseshoe Baltimore and it didn’t pan out. At least being cheek by jowl with 81 baseball games should be good for something. Reports Global Gaming Business, “This is the heart of South Philadelphia’s Stadium District, which is typically mobbed with people, particularly on game day for one (or often two) of the city’s professional sports teams. To many observers, it’s the best site for a casino resort in the crowded Philadelphia region. Cordish officials feel it may be among the best sites in the country.”

Said Cordish Gaming CEO Joseph Weinberg, rather inelegantly, “We have I-76, which dumps right into the site. We have two exits from I-95 that access the sports stadium district.” Even so, the location is targeted more on foot traffic from various and sundry stadiums. Reed Cordish set a high bar for the casino, remarking that it would be “a premier hotel and gaming destination on par with any other facility” in the U.S. The project is moving at top speed toward a 2020 opening. When complete it will boast 2,200 slots and 150 table games, plus a 200-room. It will be taxed at $20 million a year for its first five years. $5 million a year of that will be earmarked for education. We don’t know how Stadium Casino will flourish but the money is going to a good cause.

* Vici Properties‘ acquisition of Dan Gilbert‘s remaining Ohio casino assets is playing to rave reviews on Wall Street. Wrote Union Gaming Group analyst John DeCree, “VICI has begun to create some distance between itself and its peers. VICI appears to be emerging as the REIT partner of choice. VICI may have not been the highest bid for the Cleveland real estate, but the company’s long-standing relationship and willingness to provide flexible solutions helped get this one to the finish line.” The obnoxious Jack (or rather “JACK”) won’t be going away, however. Nor is it likely that we will see construction of the permanent casino that Gilbert promised Cleveland and never delivered.

Jottings: Those who remember how infamous Donald Trump‘s Atlantic City casinos were will enjoy this secret shopper report on his Doral resort. Plus ça change and all that … Penn National Gaming reports that it has received “unsolicited interest” in the Tropicana Las Vegas. “Given the fluidity of these discussions, it’s impossible to put any kind of timetable on this,” said CEO Timothy Wilmott (left).  … Scott “Woody” Butera appears in another MGM Minute, looking scarily gaunt. We’re worried. CEO Jim Murren should assign Butera to evaluate all of MGM’s restaurants, repeatedly and at length … But seriously, folks, MGM Resorts International continues to be out front on sustainability. Its latest initiative is a mobile blast chiller, cooling food on the run and getting the company closer to its goal of delivering five million meals to the less fortunate … Having been thwarted in its anti-competitive move to merge with FanDuel, DFS giant DraftKings is on the block. Among the prospective buyers is former CBS President Jeff Sagansky. DraftKings downplayed the importance of the talks … Want to own an Internet casino? It’s not as expensive as you might think—and far cheaper than buying a cruise ship … Could sports betting become a reality in California? Yes, if state Assemblyman Adam Gray (D) can get it onto the 2020 election ballot … Las Vegas Strip resorts are flirting with trouble by hosting rap festival Day N Vegas at the disused Rock in Rio festival grounds across from the Sahara. However, the most pressing concern seems to be finding enough parking spaces.

* Good news, Las Vegas. The soon-to-be Las Vegas Raiders achieved mediocrity yesterday by beating the Detroit Lions to get to 4-4. It could be worse: Sin City could be getting the 0-8 Cincinnati Bengals. Meanwhile, celebrity Raiders coach Jon Gruden made $2.73 in the time it took to type this paragraph.