Louisiana doldrums; Philadelphia Live sparkles

Does reporting bad news get tedious? You bet! But it comes with the turf. Louisiana casino winnings declined 23% last month, in keeping with the national average. Penn National Gaming casinos got off easiest, slipping 11%, while Boyd Gaming ones tumbled 25% and Caesars Entertainment plunged 38%. The latter wasn’t helped by the continued closure of Isle Grand Palais, a hurricane victim. The statewide gross was $162 million. Capacity limits (50%) and reductions in gaming positions (-75%) remain severe, though a larger economic malaise appears to be in play.

Baton Rouge got off by far the easiest, down 7%, led by L’Auberge Baton Rouge (pictured) with $12.5 million, a 1% gain. Casino Rouge was 11.5% off the pace at $4 million, while ancient Belle of Baton Rouge deservedly plummeted 44% to $1 million. In Lake Charles, market share was best defended by Golden Nugget, grossing $24 million and down 8%. L’Auberge Lake Charles slid 19.5% to $23 million and Delta Downs shed 18% to $12 million. New Orleans suffered the most of any market, with Harrah’s New Orleans emaciated 37.5% to $16.5 million. Runner-up was Boomtown New Orleans, down 14.5% to $8 million, while Treasure Chest notched $6 million, a 28% spill, and Fair Grounds racino eked out $2.5 million, a 33% dive. Amelia Belle scraped up $2 million, down 32.5%.

Moving on to Shreveport/Bossier City, Caesars was back in the lead in the Horseshoe Bossier City vs. Margaritaville rivalry, grossing $14 million, despite a 16% downturn. Its Penn rival made $13.5 million, managing to remain flat with last year. Everybody else was fighting for scraps. Bally Corp. struggled at Eldorado Shreveport, falling 28.5% to $6 million, Boomtown Bossier grossed $3.5 million (-16.5%), Sam’s Town took in $4 million (-40%), Harrah’s Louisiana Downs made $3 million (-14%) and rural Evangeline Downs grossed $5.5 million (-16.5%). As Golden Nugget and L’Auberge Baton Rouge remind us, having the freshest property in the market will see you through thick and thin … mostly thin these days.

Our Atlantic City correspondent paid a visit to new Philadelphia Live casino. His report: “Everything all shiny and new. A few restaurants were open, most are ‘coming soon,’ no cannoli for us. Surprised there were not that many people. At my second slot machine, I noticed the machine next to me had automatically shut down. Most banks of four slot machines used the old method of having two shut down all the time. And in one place, two strangers were sitting next to each other. The Player’s Card person didn’t get that my friend’s MGM Platinum Card was a higher-level card. When she showed her the Hard Rock Royalty card, she then gave her a higher level card than with the MGM. She got two nice thermal cups and a t-shirt. We both enjoyed it and will be going back, as it is only 14 miles each way, with a $5.00 bridge toll; AC is 46 miles each way, with $14.00 total toll. We were there for about three hours and I left with $40 more than I started with.” Congratulations.

Looking back on 2020, JP Morgan analyst Daniel Politzer finds it was a good year for sports betting and i-gaming alike, each generating $1.5 billion in revenue. (Internet gambling was only a $333 million industry in 2019.) New Jersey and Pennsylvania are the hub of i-gaming in the U.S., making $970 million and $566 million respectively. The appetite is there. In terms of sports-betting market share, DraftKings was way ahead with 26% (plus 13% of Internet gambling), followed by BetMGM: 10% of sports betting and 21% of i-gaming. Also well in the picture was Caesars Entertainment/William Hill with 14% of sports wagering and 11% of i-gaming. Half of what was made in sports betting was done in the fourth quarter alone, which is impressive to say the least. Despite promotional costs, Politzer still likes DKNG best, noting that sports wagers have exceeded expectations in Illinois, Colorado and Tennessee.

“DFS Operator #2” aka FanDuel is hardly hors de combat. It enjoys a market-leading 44% share in New Jersey, compared to DraftKings (25%), Caesars (11%) and BetMGM (8%). It also leads Pennsylvania with 35% of sports betting, against fast-rising Barstool Sports (20%), DraftKings (18%) and Rush Street Interactive (11%). DraftKings and FanDuel are neck-and-neck in Indiana, 30% to 29% (Penn is third with 14%). The Garden State has unseated the Silver State as the center of the sports betting, with $399 million in revenue versus $275 million. Pennsylvania chipped in $210 million and late-arriving Illinois $160 million, followed by Indiana’s $138 million.

As for Internet play, MGM Resorts International is tops in New Jersey with 26%, followed by Caesars (16%), DraftKings (15%), Golden Nugget Online (10%), FoxBet (8%) and Rush Street Interactive (6%). Rush Street has the plurality of Pennsylvania action (27%), rivaled by DraftKings (19%) and FanDuel (17%). In West Virginia, BetMGM launched last month, to the tune of 8% market share. The Internet train has left the station and Las Vegas Sands had better find a way to scurry to get aboard.

Speaking of MGM, it is expected to throw a legal hissy fit as the Connecticut Lege prepares to debate legalized sports betting again. We’ve not heard anything of the proposed Bridgeport megaresort since Jim Murren got shown the exit, has pulled its lobbyists from Hartford and the company ought to have its hands full with salvaging MGM Springfield but that doesn’t mean it can’t play spoiler. It’s no simple matter to bring lawful sports wagering to the Nutmeg State. Tribal compacts have to be amended and rival legislative proposals have to be recociled. Foxwoods Resort Casino and Mohegan Sun desire exclusivity but OTBs, led by Sportech want to be dealt into the game. (We agree.) State Sen. Cathy Osten (D) wishes to up the ante to include i-gaming and Gov. Ned Lamont (D) yearns for a “global” solution. If she drops tribal exclusivity, this finally might be Osten’s year.

In the interest of giving credit where it is due, at least one Trump administration official distinguished themselves on the way out of office. Environment Protection Agency chief Andrew Wheeler extended executive clemency to the rabbits used in EPA experiments, not killing them as planned. Reports the Washington Times, “Wheeler had earlier directed EPA to sharply reduce animal testing with an eye towards eliminating it as much as possible by 2035.” Buy that man a beer.

Jottings: Baseball legend and home-run king Hank Aaron has, we have just learned, passed away. We are bereft of words … On the opposite side of the coin, disgrace to Henderson, Nevada, for playing host to fascist Web board Parler. The House Oversight & Reform Committee will be investigating Parler, in part, says Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney (D) because Parler’s parent company “has ties to the Russian government and hosts the websites of other far-right extremist groups, as well as the terrorist group Hamas.”