Goldman Sachs has had enough of the casino business. Either that or the price was right. Whatever the case, Golden Entertainment has just executed the greatest coup of its brief existence. It has purchased Las Vegas icon the Stratosphere. In the package it also gets both Arizona 
Charlie’s and the Aquarius in Laughlin. Golden CEO Blake Sartini gets all this for the bargain price of $850 million, a steep discount from the $1.3 billion Goldman paid Carl Icahn for the ACEP foursome a decade ago. Golden also goes from being a successful but fringe company in casinos (but a major player in slot routes) to the big leagues. Golden has long since been ubiquitous in the Vegas Valley with its PT’s Gold, PT’s Brewing, PT’s Ranch, Sean Patrick’s Pub & Grill, Sierra Gold and SG Bar brands, where chicken wings and video poker go hand-in-hand. Now it has a casino presence of comparable weight. ACEP had a rough time of making the casinos profitable after Icahn sold them but, in Sartini’s hands, we predict nothing but success.
* Congratulate the NFL Players Association for perspicacity. While the major leagues have been latecomers to Continue reading
decision. Now, in a CNN 
telegraphing a message when millennials walk through the casino floor. What it’s saying is, ‘This is not for you. This is an artifact from a bygone era.’ When you look at the console where players are now conditioned to play with a touchscreen or with augmented reality or virtual reality, when players today see these kinds of consoles, to them it looks like something that was designed in the Soviet Union in the mid-1980s.” — Vaporized: Solid Strategies for Success in a Dematerialized World author Rob Tercek, speaking to the attendees at the American Gaming Association‘s Innovation Day, held in Las Vegas this week.
other. The bill, which still must pass the state Senate would: legalize DFS, pending a 19% tax and $50,000 licensing fee; permit slot routes at bars (5 machines apiece) and truck stops (10 slots apiece), maxing out at 40,000 devices and taxed 41.5%; go online with the state lottery; legalize Internet casinos at a 16% tax rate; permit tablet gambling at airports, taxed at 36%; allow slots at OTBs, 250 apiece, taxed at 54%; and legalize sports betting, with an 18% tax.
bothered to look at the market, they’d see that in the Land of Lincoln what is needed is less competition, not more. Casinos in the northern tier were flat with last year, led Rivers Casino ($37.5 million) off 2%. Harrah’s Joliet did well, up 3.5% to $15 million but the coffee achiever was MGM Resorts International‘s Grand Victoria, up 6% to $15 million. Hollywood Aurora‘s $10 million represented a 1.5% increase while Empress Joliet was down 2.5% to $11 million.
“What was most notable to me was the act of owning a casino was never an issue. His ability to manage a casino was a topic of debate, but not his ownership. All this didn’t happen by accident. The industry is making things happen.” — American Gaming Association President Geoff Freeman on the election of Donald Trump, certainly a watershed moment in American societal perceptions.
markets around the world.” With those words, Galaxy Entertainment President Michael Mecca announced that 
results — 24% up — were impressive, although Wall Street analysts tried to maintain a business-as-usual façade. “While stronger than forecasts, we don’t expect the result to come as a meaningful surprise given the recent checks,” wrote Deutsche Bank‘s Carlo Santarelli. He predicts “continued, though decelerating, double digit growth” through the end of the year and is raising his projection for year-long growth by three percentage points.
first things to go, to be followed by all traces of his stylistic influence. “The amount of money we’re going to have to spend to remove all those minarets and all that purple. Jesus! What were we thinking,” Allen queried rhetorically. He means business, too: He’s just upped his already-generous $350 million reinvestment to a cool half-billion dollars. Glenn Straub talks a good game over at Revel but 
After all, they were up against flat baccarat wagering and a revenue plunge of 27%. All other table games were up 2% on 7% less wagering. Slot handle was flat but the house took home 4% more. Lady Luck was with the locals casinos, up 9% on flat slot coin-in and 3% less table wagering. Despite its turndown, the Strip still grossed $475.5 million. Downtown shot up 22%, to $52 million. The Boulder Strip rose 19% ($64 million), closely followed by North Las Vegas (+18%, $23.5 million). Laughlin, at $43 million, eked out a 4% increase, while miscellaneous Clark County scratched out a mere 1% increase but booked $94 million in revenue.
talking about the Sahara anymore; they’d all be talking about SLS Las Vegas. Guess not, Old Sixty Votes. Early reports posit that new owner Meruelo Group 
financed by MGM Resorts International). Gov. Dannel Malloy (D) threw his support behind the satellite casino, saying, “the legislature should remain focused on maintaining the state’s longstanding partnership with the Mohegan and Mashantucket Pequot tribal nations and protecting jobs.” In other words, don’t imperil that $260 million a year in slot revenue.
and selling it
“non-compete.” He’s served Station well, coming aboard from Deutsche Bank, a major Station creditor, during Station’s bankruptcy and helping steer it out of the shoals and into prosperous waters. He’ll surely be missed, not least because he served as a buffer between CEO Frank Fertitta III and the investment community, handling those quarterly analyst calls — and pesky reporters.