Ill winds in Louisiana; Boyd gets a boost

In the crowded Shreveport/Bossier City area, only casino posted revenue gains: market leaders Margaritaville ($15 million, up 23.5%) and Horseshoe Bossier City ($12.5 million, up 3%). Eldorado Shreveport shed 14.5% to $7 million. Boomtown Bossier grossed $4 million (-4%), Sam’s Town stumbled 16% to $4.5 million and Harrah’s Louisiana Downs, soon to be sold, dipped 5% to $3.5 million.

Boyd Gaming‘s price target was upgraded to $43/share by JP Morgan analysts. Lead boffin Joseph Greff liked “continued relative spending strength in the locals market (locals GGR is, remarkably, tracking flattish year-over-year), a benign marketing/promotional spending environment there, and relatively static labor opex.” (The latter undoubtedly helped by keeping several casinos dark.) 3Q20 cash flow is now estimated to be $188 million, increasing to $198 million in the fourth quarter. Although Boyd holds on a modest stake in FanDuel, analysts ascribe $8 of stock price value to that foothold. We don’t disagree, based on the results to date.

More funny business at Trump International Las Vegas. The Boston Globe reports, “During the 2016 campaign, a shell company controlled by a Chinese couple from Vancouver bought 11 units, for $3.1 million, in the Las Vegas tower [Donald] Trump co-owns with the casino magnate Phil Ruffin. The owner of a Las Vegas-based financial services firm told The Times he was later visited by two FBI agents asking about the company behind the purchases, which he said had used his office address in incorporation papers without his knowledge. It is not known what became of the inquiry.” That’s lot more units than anybody else was buying Trump Int’l back then, even at that knockdown price. The glittering tower seems to have become one of Las Vegas’ favorite money laundromats, although we may never get to the bottom of it.

Here’s one solution to outdoor dining in Vegas during the age of Covid: geodesic dining domes. The idea is really taking off in Chicago and if they can do that there, why can’t we do it here?

Going big or going home, Penn National Gaming is planning to expand Barstool Sports to every state where sports betting is legal next year. More details as we have them. Speaking sports, oddsmakers are catching up to the scoring spree in the NFL and have ratcheted their average over/under from 50 points to 52.5. It didn’t hurt that the cliffhanger Houston Texans/Tennessee Titans tilt notched 78 total points. Thanks to the ageless play of Tom Brady, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are -2.5 favorites coming into Allegiant Stadium against the Las Vegas Raiders. The over/under stands at 53.5. The week’s biggest odds disparity is for the hopeless New York Jets, out favored by the Buffalo Bills by 10.5.