As the Trump administration’s tax bill heads into the reconciliation process, it could spark a new era of fiscal responsibility. That’s if corporations behave as they are predicted to do in this analysis. It forecasts that, with the slashing of the top corporate rate from 35% to 20%, companies will use the windfall to buy back shares (good for investors) and pay down debt, something that ought to be a priority at heavily leveraged MGM Resorts International, Caesars Entertainment and at Wynn Resorts. (All those profits made overseas in Macao and elsewhere will be taxed at a bargain-rate 10%.) However, judging by its recent actions, Caesars CEO Mark Frissora is already spending his new largesse before it’s arrived. Abolition of estate taxes could create new classes of “whales” and trust fund babies, something the industry will welcome.
On the downside, Baby Boomers on fixed incomes will be squeezed — a possible concern for Continue reading
property, some 43 years old and showing every one. As the money moves from one CZR pocket to another and then another, Vici will lease the casino-hotel back to Caesars for $87.5 million a year. It’s a 15-year agreement with options that could extend it to 35 years. Caesars also paid itself to buy the 18 acres designated for a convention center, retaining the prerogative to sell it to Vici at some future point. The Harrah’s LV deal is being done to generate cash flow to pay for the $1.7 billion (overpriced) acquisition of Centaur Gaming in Indiana. (I’ll say this for Mike Pence: He can’t be bought. Centaur drenched his re-election campaign in cash and didn’t get bupkis in return.)
asking for the Department of Justice to intervene by unilaterally reversing its 2011 opinion, which opened the ‘Net to U.S. casinos. “Internet gambling takes gambling too far. It preys on children and society’s most vulnerable,” wailed Feinstein and Graham, making a familiar — and groundless — case. “Online casinos are already opening across state lines pursuant to compacts and states are contemplating opening up their online casinos to foreign markets.” Oh, the horror! According to The Hill, the senators reiterated their 2011 high dudgeon that “allowing online gambling could turn every smartphone, tablet and personal computer into an around-the-clock casino.” Yes, God forbid anyone should be allowed personal liberty in this country.
“With Mr. Trump’s outsized viewership back in 2005, everybody from Billy Bush on up to the top brass on the 52nd floor had to stroke the ego of the big cash cow along the way to higher earnings.” — Mr. Bush, 
number of casinos has just been roughly doubled, easing antitrust concerns. He predicts a $32/share sale price and $75 million to $125 million in synergies. Writes Santarelli, “For starters, we see at least two areas where forced dispositions are likely, Missouri and Indiana. In Indiana, where [Penn] operates Hollywood Lawrenceburg and [Penn] operates Belterra and Ameristar East Chicago, the law prohibits ownership interests in more than two riverboat casinos. Thus, we believe one of the three assets would have to be disposed of.
and bothered for sports betting but because 
spree didn’t help matters. Gambling revenues fell 6% last month along Las Vegas Boulevard. (Statewide, gaming revenues were flat.) A 6% drop-off in baccarat wagers translated into flat casino win, while non-baccarat table games were big losers — down 13% — for the house, as wagering slipped 7%. The only place where the house was even slightly lucky was slot win, down 3.5% on 4% less coin-in.
percent year-on-year in first half 2017, after falling by around 30 percent over 2015 to 2016,” he wrote. “We expect GGR to continue to grow in 2018, driven by sustained growth in visitor arrivals.” Sheldon Adelson and Genting Group 
circumspect analysands in the gaming ‘verse. “More broadly, the regulatory and new supply risks are relatively benign in the mature gaming industry,” Bumazhny writes, while 
stickup of the Las Vegas Strip‘s top casino. Players, however, were not so oblivious. Actor James Woods was among the onlookers. Tweeted Woods, “a guy walks up with a gun and robs the cage thirty feet from us ten minutes ago.” Since the suspect 
tribal medical facility. Secondly, Council Bluffs is already home to one Ameristar-branded Pinnacle Entertainment casino and two Caesars Entertainment properties. City Attorney Dick Wade is hunkering down for another court fight. “We don’t think the action of the [National] Indian Gaming Commission is consistent with their rules and the way the land was originally put into trust,” he told the press.
seems like a surefire prescription for a recession, to which — as we have discovered — casinos are far from bulletproof.) Anyway, on to Station. Deutsche Bank analyst Carlo Santarelli writes that “we see [Station] as the best play on tax reform within our gaming coverage universe and believe the current proposals could be conservatively worth $3-6 in present equity value per share (+10-20%) … Ultimately, depending on how the final bill comes together, the effective tax rate could be considerably lower, as we estimate [Station]’s 2018-2020 capex plans essentially approximate our pre-tax income forecasts, rendering taxable income insignificant.”
Rather than shell out his own money, Icahn is looking to tap the Investment Alternative Tax fund that the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority collects. Provided that Icahn has something more than a vacant lot in mind for the space, it sounds like a good and logical idea. Icahn wouldn’t raid other companies’ levies but is asking 
up to the plate, proposing to block the Strip to all traffic save RTC buses, taxicabs, and Lyft and Uber drivers. She cites the “difficulty” first responders had in getting to Mandalay Bay during the 10/1 shootings and I, for one, would not have wanted to be navigating an ambulance through Strip traffic on an average evening. The details of Giunchigliani’s proposed no-drive zone 
initially view this news negatively, we see a silver lining here as it enables ERI to either (1) take advantage of the favorable/active M&A environment to obtain a far better transaction multiple for the property …. or (2) fully integrate the property into its existing portfolio.” He added, “we estimate ~$10m of EBITDA upside if the property were run similarly to ERI’s other properties.” However, as Isle Lake Charles is the weakest property in the market, its appeal for Eldorado may be negligible. Unfortunately for the company, two of the more aggressive hunters and seekers of acquisitions, Pinnacle Entertainment and Boyd Gaming, already have strong Lake Charles footholds. But Penn National Gaming does not and Caesars Entertainment might want to get back into the market, one that Gary Loveman foolishly forfeited in favor of added exposure in Biloxi. New CEO Mark Frissora certainly has an itch to spend, judging by