Crown in hot water again; Wynn and whimsy

Crown Resorts just can’t stay out of trouble. On the first anniversary (roughly) of the arrest of the Crown 18 in China, the casino giant stands accused of rigging video poker machines. Parliamentary lone wolf and anti-gambling crusader Andrew Wilkie released a whistleblower video, which will prompt an investigation by Australian regulators. “On the recording, unidentified people whose faces were heavily pixelated accuse Crown’s casino in Melbourne of fixing poker machines by removing built-in controls designed to regulate gambling rates,” reports Reuters.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg. Accusations of winking at domestic violence and drug use, as well as encouraging customers to disguise their appearance to get around anti-money-laundering regulations were made. Wilkie said the bundle of allegations, if true, betrayed “a systemic problem” with James Packer‘s casinos. Crown denied the charges and urged Wilkie to come clean to authorities. That being said, it wouldn’t be the first time Crown has been accused of stepping over the line of what’s permissible. For his part, Wilkie is among those who deplore Australia‘s gaming industry for having 20% of the world’s slot machines for 1% of its populace. Also, the Crown 18 bust is now being blamed for the collapse of Alon, the Las Vegas dream project that went bust — as have so many Packer attempts to crack the Sin City market.

* Design details of Wynn Boston Harbor will come as little surprise to those familiar with the style(s) of Wynncore. Perhaps the most newsworthy tidbit in this preview is that a Jeff Koons sculpture of Popeye will greet guests descending the escalator into the lobby. It’s nice to know that Steve Wynn‘s sense of whimsy remains intact.

* Not even an extra weekend day was able to save Louisiana casinos from a Hurricane Harvey-propelled swoon. The Pelican State was down 4% overall. Lake Charles and Baton Rouge were hit the hardest, down 11% and 10%, respectively. Pinnacle Entertainment‘s L’Auberge Lake Charles ($21 million) took it on the chin, plummeting 19.5%, while Isle of Capri Lake Charles ($8.5 million) dove 15%. By contrast, Golden Nugget was flat at $22 million. Boyd Gaming‘s Delta Downs fell 9% to $13 million.

In Baton Rouge, Belle of Baton Rouge was sent reeling, off 25.5% to $4 million. Gaming & Leisure Properties‘ Casino Rouge grossed $5 million, an 11% falloff. L’Auberge Baton Rouge was only down 3%, to $14 million. Outlying Boyd properties Evangeline Downs (-7%) and Amelia Belle (-7%) grossed $6.5 million and $3.5 million.

Harrah’s New Orleans actually saw a 4% increase in business, to $25 million, as did Churchill Downs‘ Fair Grounds, up 5.5% to $3.5 million. Pinnacle’s Boomtown New Orleans slipped 2% for a $9.5 million gross while Boyd’s Treasure Chest was down 1%, grossing $9 million. Up in Shreveport/Bossier City, Boyd’s Sam’s Town saw a 4% gain, to $6 million, but that paled next to Horseshoe Bossier City‘s 11% and $16 million. Eldorado Shreveport was hardest hit, falling 165 to $9 million, while Margaritaville shot up 14.5% to $13 million. Harrah’s Louisiana Downs grossed a dramatic 24% higher, for $4 million. Pinnacle’s Boomtown Bossier was off 1.5%, to $5 million, while Diamond Jack’s failed to sparkle, plunging 13.5% to bottom out at $3 million.