November was another terrific month for Maryland casinos, as revenues picked up a bit from October, accumulating 14% more than in November 2019.. (If inflation is so bad, where do Marylanders find all this money with which to gamble, one wonders? But anyway … ) After a month out of the top spot, MGM National Harbor was back at #1, grossing $68 million, a 26% leap by the lion. Maryland Live was not quite so buoyant, up 10% to $58 million. Horseshoe Baltimore tumbled 15% to $16 million, remaining the problem child of Caesars Entertainment. Business was slightly slower at Rocky Gap Resort, up 11.5% to $5 million, while Ocean Downs cantered +22.5% to $6.5 million and Hollywood Perryville gained 22% to $7 million. Despite flat slot revenues, West Virginia casinos garnered 3% more last month, on the strength of robust (+18%) table win. Hollywood Charles Town Races was particularly fortunate, climbing 4% at the slots and 32% at the tables.
Hard Rock Atlantic City is becoming unbecomingly chintzy. The following picture is worth the proverbial thousand words:
Not resting on its Adele laurels, Caesars Entertainment is bringing John Legend to Planet Hollywood for a residency. The big-band Love in Las Vegas promises “a beautiful, soulful concert experience, showcasing Legend’s greatest hits … a vibrant, colorful celebration of love and coming together.” We’re all for that. Tickets for the 24-performance stint go on sale to the hoi polloi on Dec, 13 at 1 p.m. Eastern time, assuming there are any left after various and sundry presales have been satisfied. We were moved by Legend’s interpretation of the title role in Jesus Christ Superstar and are sure he can work wonders on the Strip. It’s just a shame it isn’t a longer-term deal.
Paul Thomas Anderson‘s Licorice Pizza may be a terrific film (we haven’t seen it yet) but don’t mark it on your Oscar betting slips if you live in New Jersey or Indiana. The National Board of Review awarded it Best Picture, Best Director and two other honors. The NBR is an unfailing Oscar jinx, having gone gaga over Bradley Cooper‘s A Star Is Born (multiple Oscar nominations, one win) and hexing Spike Lee‘s Da Five Bloods (one nomination, no wins). It’s like Academy voters see the NBR coming and flee in the opposite direction.
Jottings: Macao‘s imprisonment of Alvin Chau and the ongoing collapse of his Suncity junket empire has the potential to wipe out as much 25% of the enclave’s gambling revenue. “On the upside, operators will be dealing with most players directly, for higher margins than they would realize under the junket model,” observes Global Gaming Business … Congratulations to Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment on fully capitalizing $1.5 billion Inspire in South Korea. The news clears the way for completion of the megaresort … Just when it looked like the casino-selection in Japan was finally accelerating, another spanner has been thrown into the works. The mayor of Kuwana City wants in, restarting the agonizing audition process for wannabe casino operators. And nothing says ‘tourism’ like Kuwana City … Having failed to sever craps and roulette from OSB in its court fight for sports betting, the Seminole Tribe will lose them, too. It must have been nice while it lasted. Las Vegas Sands, meanwhile, is suing the Seminoles for supposedly bribing its petition-gatherers … Prosperity on the Las Vegas Strip is not spilling over to Virgin Las Vegas. An unimpeachable S&G source says it’s pretty dead on their casino floor … Continuing to play down to the level of their opponents, the Las Vegas Raiders got waxed by the inferior Washington Football Team, not even covering the spread. At a Gruden-esque 6-6, the Silver & Black’s playoff hopes are on life support …
Wynn Resorts CEO-to-be Craig Billings‘ portfolio just got bulkier. He’s been named CEO of Wynn Macau, currently reeling on the Hong Kong stock exchange … Crown Resorts continues to resist a Blackstone Group buyout. But the latter has been given scrutiny of Crown books and we can’t wait to see what will be found … $760 million Yaamava’ Resort & Casino in southern California hosts an invitation-only grand opening Dec. 13. Owners the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians got the green light last week to operate in Nevada, too … Out goes a defunct shopping mall. In comes a two-tower, Hard Rock-branded casino-hotel. That’s the plan for Bristol, Virginia, where the mall will be cannibalized to make a 2,700-slot, 100-table game gambling hall … Dec. 11 is D-Day for a proposed, $325 million casino in Slidell, Louisiana. Voters will have the final say and, based on their support of sports betting, the odds look very good. We’re glad … Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood, Florida, will soon be complemented with Wyndham Dolce Kosher House Hotel, open in time for Hanukkah next year. Its features will include a “Sabbath elevator” that automatically stops on every floor, making up in observance what it lacks in speed … Good news for the future of Bally’s Las Vegas and Paris-Las Vegas: They’re to be the latest home for the World Series of Poker (bad news for The Rio and its future). You can take Bally’s and Paris out of the “for sale” column, and gin up those rumors about the Horseshoe brand coming to the Strip.
We went to the old Hardrock (Virgin) a few months ago and couldn’t believe how slow it was. Part of the problem is Mohegan Sun, which runs the casino, is an East Coast tribe so their data base is mostly people from the East Coast who seldom get to Vegas. Can’t stand the GM but for the sake of the employees I hope they do well.
Washington is a solid football team, they have won four straight, they run the ball well, and play stingy defense. The Raiders are not superior to them, the NFC is stronger than the AFC this year, if Washington was in the AFC they would likely be at the top. Washington is similar to New England this year, they beat opponents up, and out coach the heck out of them…
Since Ballys/Paris is now out of the “whats for sale” running, and since they will not sell PH without keeping the theater, so not that one, which one will it be? Forget Ceasars and probalby Harrahs also. Leaves Flamingo and Cromwell. Cromwell is tied to Linq, odds are not that one. Leaves Flamingo, where my money is. Or they do not sell anything, since they are making money hand over fist.
CZR management is looking to score $2 billion-$3 billion out of selling *something* on the Strip but I can’t fault your analysis. Maybe they finally see reason and part with the Zappos Theater, along with the rest of Planet Ho. Can’t see where they’d get $2 billion for anything else except Caesars Palace itself and that’s sacrosanct.