Gambling returns to normality; Boyd’s low-cost charity

Gambling revenues have been so overheated since the pandemic that some kind of market correction was overdue. The much-vaunted recession having failed to manifest itself, the gloom-and-doom crowd on Wall Street must content itself with small retreats in casino winnings. Case in point, Atlantic City. The Boardwalk was down 3% last month to $290 million—but still comfortably 5% higher than it was in July 2019, a halcyon period. The month was highlighted by a rare reversal of fortune for Ocean Casino Resort (pictured), down 6.5% to $38 million.

Overall, casinos were carried by usual suspects like Borgata ($78.5 million, up 2.5%) and Hard Rock Atlantic City ($53 million, flat) and an unusual one: Bally’s Atlantic City, up 2% to $17 million. The doghouse was occupied by Golden Nugget, down 3.5% to $14 million, though not for lacking of trying by Resorts Atlantic City, plunging 16% to $15 million. That leaves the Caesars Entertainment threesome, wherein Caesars Atlantic City ceded a percentage point to reach $25 million, just a hairsbreadth behind Harrah’s Resort ($25 million, -4.5%), while Tropicana Atlantic City tumbled 13.5%, landing at $24 million. Incidentally, Caesars has long since eliminated the volatility at its eponymous casino, whose revenues used to be as elastic as a Slinky.

$583 million in sports betting handle boiled down to $61 million in revenue, with FanDuel ($23 million) nipping DraftKings ($18 million). BetMGM brought home $6 million and Caesars Sportsbook was an also-ran at $1.5 million. Internet casinos engendered $155 million (+14%), dominated by DraftKings ($56.5 million) and BetMGM ($43 million), with FanDuel ($16 million) and Caesars ($13 million) also distinguishing themselves. Note well the upsurge in online play. Punters may be patronizing Atlantic City a tad less but they’re playing on the web considerably more, which will buy a lot of crying towels in corporate boardrooms.

Next door in Pennsylvania, things did look recessionary, as the saturated casino market slipped 2%—and 9% below 2019. Wind Creek Bethlehem (+1.5%) came within an ace of unseating Parx Casino (-3%) from its Keystone State supremacy, $49 million to $49.5 million. The remainder of the Philadelphia market was colored by a revenue race between Philadelphia Live (pictured, $20.5 million, +12.5%) and close rival Rivers Philadelphia ($19 million, +11%). Harrah’s Philadelphia plummeted 18% to $12 million, just a few hundred dimes ahead of Valley Forge Casino Resort ($12 million). Rivers Pittsburgh ceded 5.5% defending its $30 million turf against Hollywood Meadows ($17 million, -1%) and young whippersnapper Pittsburgh Live ($10 million, flat).

Mohegan Pocono Downs (-6%) and Mount Airy (-2.5%) were bunched together at $18 million, besting Hollywood Penn National‘s $14 million (-8%) and Presque Isle Downs‘ $10 million (-5%). Lady Luck Nemacolin was unusually stable, off but 1.5% to $2 million. Among the remaining satellite properties Hollywood York led with $8 million (-3%), Hollywood Morgantown was flat at $5 million and Parx Shippensburg eked out $3 million. If brick-and-mortar casinos were depressed, Internet ones were manic, skyrocketing 35% to $133 million, led by Hollywood Casino‘s $45 million, FanDuel followed with $29 million, again besting BetRivers ($27 million). Sports betting activity was up but 1%, with $338.5 million of handle translating into win of $32 million. Market share went predominantly to FanDuel (38%), segued by DraftKings (26%), distantly followed by BetRivers (8%), BetMGM (7%) and Barstool Sports (5%).

One state resisting the power of gravity is Massachusetts, where casino winnings of $98.5 million were flat with July of last year. For once, Encore Boston Harbor wasn’t the power source, off 5% to a still-impressive $61 million. By contrast, Plainridge Park (above) surged 11% to $14 million, while MGM Springfield jumped 9% to $23.5 million. Sports betting brought home $30 million from handle of $295 million, easily led by DraftKings with 50% of market share. FanDuel was a predictable second with 34%, followed by BetMGM (8.5%), Caesars Sportsbook (3%), mortally wounded WynnBet (2.5%) and newly jilted Barstool Sports (1%). The latter definitely wasn’t worth all the grief it caused Penn Entertainment to get Dave Portnoy into the Bay State.

Handle of $393 million turned into $28 million for sports books in June in Arizona, who were bested by the bettors (only a 7% hold rate). Further diluting the picture was $11.5 million in promotional activity. To the extent that anybody had bragging rights it was FanDuel at $12 million. DraftKings placed second with $7 million, and BetMGM and Caesars posted numbers similar to theirs in New Jersey: $5 million and $1.5 million respectively.

“Without Hawaii, there’s no Boyd [Gaming],” said company spokesman David Strow, announcing financial relief to victims of the Maui wildfires. Truer words were never spoken and we laud Boyd’s gesture but … $100K seems a paltry sum, both in light of the appalling devastation and the amount of greenbacks that Hawaiians have poured into Boyd’s coffers over the decades. It certainly pales in comparison to what Boyd spends in a quarter of stock buybacks. As John Steinbeck (the Clark County fire chief, not the author) said, “Las Vegas is the ninth island, as we all know. We have a kindred spirit with the people of Hawaii and we’re ready to send as many resources as they need.” That’s more like it. According to CDC Gaming Reports, restaurants at Silverton also passed the hat amongst themselves for fire relief. It’s great to see so many chipping but, Boyd, you can afford to dig a little deeper.

Jottings: That dreaded guitar hotel in front of The Mirage may arise sooner than we expected. The local dead tree of record reports that necessary zoning permits have been approved by Clark County functionaries … Big Gaming is more prosperous than ever and yet its greed redoubles by the minute. With Venelazzo making a grab for your discretionary dollars with a gratuitous parking levy, the number of Las Vegas Strip hotels where you can park your car for free can be counted on the fingers of one hand. Holdouts include Phil Ruffin‘s Circus Circus and Treasure Island, along with Wynncore, and mortally endangered Tropicana Las Vegas and Casino Royale. Say not so! … Will Las Vegas Sands have the nerve to charge for parking at Sands Nassau? With 3.9 million square feet of garages planned we think not. If realized, the casino floor will be the third-largest in the U.S., among other expansive amenities … It’s a modest start but a good example: The 150-slot casino at Miccosukee Service Plaza in Florida will debut as a non-smoking property … Just what we need in time for football season; more obnoxious DraftKings ads starring the inescapable Kevin Hart. He’ll get support from former NFL quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick.

Quote of the Day: “In light of the continued requirement for outsized marketing spend through user acquisition and promotions in online sports betting, we believe there are higher and better uses of capital deployment for Wynn Resorts shareholders.”—Wynn CFO Julie Cameron-Doe, falling on the sword that is/was WynnBet.