Near-ideal month in Atlantic City

Atlantic City casinos were, despite an extra weekend day in August, up only 6%. But, more importantly, all except one either stood their ground or grew business. They grossed $286.5 million, with symmetrical increases in slot and table revenue. A table-game blowout (-15% on 7% less wagering) at Borgata—$72 million—was responsible for only 1.5% revenue growth, nearly negating slot win that was up 9% on 6.5% higher coin-in. Still, Borgata is tracking to finish the quarter up 7.5% against Wall Street projections of a 4% slump. As a group, the Caesars Entertainment triptych held the line pretty impressively, up 4% on 4% higher table win (with 6% more wagering) and 4% higher slot win despite flat hold. Harrah’s Resort was flat at $31 million, Caesars Atlantic City jumped 10.5% and Bally’s was flat at $19 million. In sum, Caesars A.C. dramatically outperformed the market and carried its two brethren.

As Hard Rock Atlantic City and Ocean Casino Resort start to face year/year comparisons, they find themselves an easy act to follow. Hard Rock ($28.5 million) grew 25% and Ocean ($24 million) vaulted 23%. At the other end of the age spectrum, Resorts Atlantic City was up 5% for a $19 million finish. Tropicana Atlantic City held onto third place with $32 million (a 1.5% dip and the only revenue-negative casino in town), while the Golden Nugget was flat at $21 million. This has got to be as good a month as Atlantic City can hope to see.

As concerns sports betting, New Jersey was up 207% last month, with handle of $293.5 million. When online and retail wagering are folded together, the haul is expected to exceed Nevada‘s. Revenue was $25 million, a 174% gain. Online sports wagering was $249 million of the handle, with FanDuel Sportsbook/PointsBet netting over $9 million in revenue while DraftKings/Resorts Digital was a bit shy of $7 million. FanDuel’s Meadowlands sports book dominated retail wagering, with $2.5 million, followed distantly by Monmouth Park ($697,075).

* Pennsylvania released slot numbers and revenue was up 2% statewide. Boyd Gaming had a breakout month at Valley Forge Resort Casino, up 17.5% (reaching $9 million), while Harrah’s Philadelphia slid 4% downward (to $15.5 million). Parx Casino was up 4% to $38 million and Wind Creek Bethlehem was becalmed, down 2% to $25 million. Others having adverse months were The Meadows racino, down 5% to $18 million, and Mount Airy, off 1% to $14 million.

Otherwise it was smooth sailing: Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs ($17 million, +5%), Presque Isle Downs ($10.5 million, +2%), Hollywood Casino ($17.5 million, +2%), Rivers Casino Pittsburgh ($25 million, +7%), SugarHouse ($15 million, +5%), Lady Luck Nemacolin ($3 million, +8%). Keystone State sportsbooks generated handle of $109 million and kept $10 million. Online wagering represented 76% of that. FanDuel’s Valley Forge sportsbook garnered $35 million in wagers online, zipping past SugarHouse’s $25 million. Rivers ($17 million) and Parx ($6 million) also made strong showings. Parx and Rivers ($6 million each) dominated walk-up business, followed by Valley Forge ($2.5 million) and H0llywood Casino ($2 million).

* Penn National Gaming has been slipping in the Detroit market, posting its third straight revenue-negative month at Greektown. The casino grossed $27 million last month while MotorCity was flat but raked in $40 million. Market leader MGM Grand Detroit was also flat but cruised with $53 million.

* Indiana sportsbooks got off to a roaring start, with big money being wagered and sometimes won big, as customers from Ohio flooded the gaming floor. Ohio State has no trouble covering a 15.5-point spread when it trampled the University of Cincinnati 42-0. The Cincinnati Bengals, characteristically, lost their opening game but—more importantly—covered the spread, minimizing the losing margin to one point. While college and professional football dominated the action, sports like cricket made their presence felt, too. As Hugh Aufill, sportsbook manager for Hollywood Casino Lawrenceburg observed, “The biggest advertiser I have is word of mouth. Based on the conversations I had, I think it will grow throughout the year. They couldn’t wait to get their hands on the sheets for next week. This is just the start of the mountain we’re climbing.” All except Rising Star Casino, which hasn’t announced an opening date for its book. Owner Full House Resorts needs to focus.

* That giant sucking sound being heard out of China isn’t the trade war; it’s the $24 billion drain on the economy represented by illicit Internet gambling. According to Bloomberg Businessweek, “A single baccarat table can draw betting volumes touching 75,000 yuan ($10,500) in a 30-second game.” China has tried—and failed—to shutter the Philippines and Cambodia is up next. But with those nations raking in hundreds of millions, why should they listen to Beijing? It’s also an industry that Chinese President Xi Jinping can’t prosecute, because it’s being run out of offshore sites as far away as Costa Rica. “It’s like China’s trying to whack a mole,” observed gaming analyst Ben Lee. It doesn’t help that major Chinese banks are hosting player accounts. The one bit of good news for President Xi is that Cambodia has put a freeze on Internet casinos. The Philippines, while generally unsympathetic, has instituted a temporary freeze on new sites. As one casino industry representative said recently, the online gambling dens “are here to stay,” not words that will be warmly received in Beijing.

* Norfolk, Virginia, is liking what it’s hearing from the Pamunkey Indian Tribe: $10 million for a riverfront casino site and 4% in annual gaming taxes (estimated to pencil out at $33 million/year/taxes). As usual, some politicians balked, citing ‘the social problems of gambling.’ Councilwoman Andria McLellan also wanted to know where the casino-derived windfall would go. “If I’m going to back this, the only way I will is if we can guarantee the money is going to schools and flooding.”

At an estimated $700 million, the Pamunkey casino would be pretty damn big: $4,500 slots and 225 table games. Revenue expectations are—shall we say—optimistic: $824 million a year, more than Encore Boston Harbor. The Pamunkey have made a variety of financial commitments to Norfolk but also have the option of trying for a commercial casino, in which case it would pay standard taxes on everything. It won’t just be a big box of slots, as a 500-room hotel and 750-seat entertainment center are mooted, along with several restaurants.

All of this is no sure thing. The casino site is 80 miles away from the Pamunkey reservation. Getting land taken into trust by the Trump administration is a long shot. (It made six Virginia tribes renounce their casino prerogatives in return for federal recognition and Donald Trump is historically averse to tribal gaming.) A commercial casino would have to be approved by the General Assembly and by a local referendum. It’s a very wait-and-see situation.

* Good news for The Pearl at the Palms: rocker Billy Idol has extended his residency into next year. My wife would be ecstatic if she still lived in Sin City.