Chicago blew it; Times Square, anyone? Monday Mega-Jottings

Posted on May 2, 2022 by David McKee

Even as Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D) blunders forward with her megaresort campaign, more voices are being raised in criticism of how the Second City is going about the process. A Crain’s Business analysis determined that “Each location appears to have serious shortcomings when it comes to delivering the greatest possible benefits from a long-awaited city casino.” The conclusion is that Lightfoot is moving too fast in order to garner a quick payday for the city’s “woefully underfunded” pension system.

And the best way to do that, Crain’s argues, is to create a tourist draw, not something that leeches off of existing Illinois casinos. “Maybe a glitzy city casino would lure a few more Hoosiers and cheeseheads. But Indiana, Wisconsin, Iowa and Missouri all have plenty of casinos, limiting the potential market of day-trippers.” And, it argues, casino gambling may cannibalize existing revenue streams like major league sports and a stellar theatre scene.

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Posted in Architecture, Aristocrat, Atlantic City, Australia, Bally, Baseball, BetMGM, Caesars Entertainment, Chicago, China, Crown Resorts, Derek Stevens, Election, Entertainment, Environment, FanDuel, Galaxy Entertainment, GLPI, Hard Rock International, Health, Illinois, International, Kansas, Las Vegas Sands, Law enforcement, Macau, Marketing, Massachusetts, MGM Resorts International, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Planet Hollywood, Politics, Real Estate, Regulation, Resorts World LV, Rush Street Gaming, Sports betting, The Strip, Tribal, United Kingdom, Virginia | 1 Comment

Windy City shakedown; Strip explodes, Palms reborn

Posted on April 28, 2022 by David McKee

$75 million or else. That’s extortionate Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot‘s latest demand of casino applicants. If you win the bid, fork over the cash. Her Dishonor might settle for ‘only’ $40 million on the barrelhead, followed up by a $2 million ransom the subsequent year. So far only Bally’s Corp. has offered upfront money—$25 million—while its rivals want Lightfoot to settle for the city’s cut on the back end. With the Chicago Tribune (Bally’s), waterfront (Rush Street Gaming), and Soldier Field area (Hard Rock International) sites all being blown raspberries by aldermen and public alike, some are even advocating putting McCormick Place back into play.

They won’t have much time. Chicago Casino Committee Chairman Tom Tunney wants a final selection by May, with the goal of having the Illinois Gaming Board sign off on the choice by autumn. In the meantime, Lightfoot has been caught playing footsie with Bally’s, charging it only one application fee for two sites. (Rush Street had to pay twice over.) Lightfoot’s office cited technicalities to justify the favorable treatment while Bally’s Chairman Soo Kim, citing his deep pockets, said, “We paid the fees that were asked. Don’t you think we would have sent another $300,000 if they asked us to?” Certainly—but Kim wasn’t asked, another indication of which way Lightfoot is leaning.

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Posted in Bally, Boulder Strip, Boyd Gaming, Chicago, China, Downtown, Florida, Hard Rock International, Health, International, Lake Tahoe, Las Vegas Sands, Laughlin, Macau, Mesquite, Nevada, New York, North Las Vegas, Palms, Politics, Regulation, Reno, Rush Street Gaming, San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, Singapore, Station Casinos, Taxes, Texas, The Strip, Tourism, Wall Street, Wendover | 1 Comment

FSE gets new look; Tilman’s big bet; Boyd beats The Street

Posted on April 27, 2022 by David McKee

Fremont Street Experience will now be ‘branded content’ or, to put it less politely, a big-ass billboard for slot companies. Well, one slot company: Aristocrat Gaming. It’s inked a pact with FSE to present “an action-packed new video … The show highlights Aristocrat’s biggest game themes, which are real fan favorites.” The infomercial debuts this week. No word yet on whether competing game makers can hope for similar exposure but we think not. After all, FSE President Andrew Simon nearly knelt in gratitude, saying, “We are proud that industry leader Aristocrat chose the world-class Viva Vision screen to share their messaging in a unique and one-of-a kind environment.”

Just imagine the buffalo stampedes to come, rampaging from the Plaza Hotel down 1,500 feet of canopy and past eight more casinos. Aristocrat is clearly wagering that all that HD action will make Fremont Street pedestrians want to hit the nearest Glitter Gulch casino for some Aristocrat-branded action. We’ll find out how it works at the next quarterly report. And if it doesn’t play for Aristocrat, some other slot maker will be quick to try it themselves. Happy viewing.

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Posted in Aristocrat, Boyd Gaming, Charity, Chicago, CityCenter, Downtown, Economy, Elaine Wynn, Entertainment, Hawaii, Internet gambling, Marketing, Movies, Neil Bluhm, Politics, Real Estate, The Strip, Tilman Fertitta, Wall Street, Wynn Resorts | 3 Comments

Sex, drugs and Resorts World LV; Massachusetts gets serious about sports betting; Caesars wins two Freddies

Posted on April 25, 2022 by David McKee

Both the reputations of Resorts World Las Vegas and its president, Scott Sibella, could be besmirched by a Nevada Gaming Control Board investigation. The tentative probe stems from charges made by gambler Brandon Sattler as part of a huge bankruptcy proceeding. Sattler’s accusations include that Resorts World fast-food joint Tacos El Cabron is partially owned by David “Fat Dave” Stroj, a convicted felon, who orchestrated a multi-state, illegal bookmaking scheme and is an associate of the Philadelphia Mob. (Choice Stroj quote: “Palomar [card room] is the best way I can wash the money. I don’t have to report it. I just deposit it at the Palomar and there’s no problems for me.”) Sattler says he’s known Sibella for 20 years and has seen the Resorts World prexy use drugs.

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Posted in Architecture, Caesars Entertainment, California, Detroit, Economy, Japan, Las Vegas Sands, Louisiana, Macau, Marketing, Massachusetts, MGM Resorts International, Money laundering, Peninsula Pacific, Penn National, Phil Ruffin, Politics, Real Estate, Regulation, Resorts World LV, Sam Nazarian, Singapore, Sports betting, Taxes, The Mob, The Strip, Tribal, Wynn Resorts | 1 Comment

Sands, NY Mets in cahoots; Raiders set to clobber Vegas bookies

Posted on April 22, 2022 by David McKee

Pay no attention to the men behind the curtain. There’s nothing wrong with the idea of a casino megaresort in the Willets Point area, near Citi Field. It’s far preferable to some of the other New York City sites that have been mooted. But the way New York Mets owner Steve Cohen and Las Vegas Sands have been behaving, you’d think it needed to be a well-kept secret. To call their behavior disingenuous would something of an understatement. Though he’d been known to be in talks with Sands, Cohen said there was ‘no formal relationship‘ between the duo. Imagine our surprise when it turned out that Sands lobbyists were sharing an office with Crown Mets LLC and Cohen’s Point 72 firm. No relationship, huh? They had also been acting in concert when it came to lobbying lawmakers, forming a pincer movement.

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Posted in AGA, Atlantic City, BetMGM, Boyd Gaming, Economy, Golden Nugget, Illinois, Internet gambling, Las Vegas Raiders, Las Vegas Sands, MGM Resorts International, Michael Gaughan, New York, North Carolina, Ocean Resort, Palms, Philippines, Politics, Sports, Sports betting, Station Casinos, Tribal, Westgate LV, Wisconsin | 1 Comment

Playing politics with gaming

Posted on April 21, 2022 by David McKee

Although the Indian Gaming Association trade show in sunny Anaheim is sucking all the wind out of casino news this week, there’s still movement happening, mostly in the state houses. Take the weird, hybrid sports-betting bill that just passed out of the Maine state senate and is headed for Gov. Janet Mills‘ desk. It grants online wagering (but is it off-reservation?) to Maliseet, Penobscot and Passamaquoddy tribes. Four private-sector casinos also get sports wagering, but only of the walk-up variety. You’d think that, for the casinos, getting any iteration of sports betting would be welcome, but they’re against the bill. So is the Sports Betting Alliance, a stalking horse for OSB giants like DraftKings and FanDuel. Huffed the SBA, it’s “a significant step backwards from the existing proposal to legalize sports betting market in Maine.” Mills is prickly and unpredictable but we expect her to ignore the SBA and sign the bill, the product of long negotiation with the tribes.

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Posted in Caesars Entertainment, DraftKings, FanDuel, Japan, Maine, MGM Resorts International, Penn National, Politics, Regulation, Sports betting, Taxes, Texas, Tribal | Comments Off on Playing politics with gaming

Atlantic City continues to rebound; Chicago casinos lose momentum; Mega-Jottings

Posted on April 19, 2022 by David McKee

Atlantic City casinos leapt 17% from March 2021, grossing $216.5 million. Except for Tropicana Atlantic City, which was flat at $19 million, almost everyone posted relatively impressive gains. Borgata‘s $55 million (+18%) predictably topped the market, while Hard Rock Atlantic City (shown) surged 28% to $39 million. Ocean Casino Resort was up 26% to $25.5 million. Harrah’s Resort performed best of the Caesars Entertainment threesome, climbing 12.5% to $20 million, while Caesars Atlantic City dipped 4.5% down to $18.5 million. Bunched together at the bottom were Bally’s Atlantic City, Resorts Atlantic City and Golden Nugget, in that order. Bally’s seems to be showing momentum, moving up two notches in the hierarchy, gaining 36% on a gross of $13.5 million, while Resorts notched $13 million, an 8% hike and the Nugget brought up the rear with $12.5 million, a 16% climb nevertheless.

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Posted in AGA, Atlantic City, Bally, Caesars Entertainment, California, Card rooms, Charity, Chicago, Derek Stevens, Gary Goett, Golden Nugget, Hard Rock International, Indiana, International, Internet gambling, Law enforcement, Macau, MGM Resorts International, Mississippi, Mohegan Sun, Money laundering, Neil Bluhm, Ocean Resort, Phil Ruffin, Politics, Problem gambling, Reno, Rush Street Gaming, Spectacle Entertainment, Sports betting, Technology, West Virginia | Comments Off on Atlantic City continues to rebound; Chicago casinos lose momentum; Mega-Jottings

Parx dethroned; Shreveport sleaze; Maine’s latest bet

Posted on April 18, 2022 by David McKee

Move over, Parx Casino, there’s a new leader in the Pennsylvania gaming market. That’d be Penn National‘s eponymous racino near Harrisburg. For the second month in a row it was tops in the Keystone State, banking $64 million, up 11.5% from last year. Parx had to settle for $60.5 million, a 2% dip from 2021. On the comeback trail was Rivers Philadelphia, up 13% to $54.5 million. Valley Forge Resort was an incredibly strong fourth-place contender, soaring 40% to $52 million (remember, it’s considerably smaller than its market rivals, constrained by law), while Philadelphia Live manifested only limited signs of life: $25 million, albeit a 20% gain. It did displace Harrah’s Philadelphia, whose $19 million represented only a 2% uptick.

Other market-dominating casinos were Wind Creek Bethlehem ($47 million, +33.5%) and Rivers Pittsburgh ($35.5 million, +20%). Much further back were Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs ($22 million, flat), Hollywood Meadows ($20.5 million, -2%), Mount Airy ($20 million, -14%) and Presque Isle Downs ($11.5 million, +11%). Then came the satellites: Pittsburgh Live ($10 million, +20%), new Hollywood York ($8 million) and Hollywood Morgantown ($5.5 million, +241%). As customary, Lady Luck Nemacolin brought up the rear with $2 million, up 3%.

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Posted in Atlantic City, Australia, Bally, Barstool Sports, BetMGM, Boyd Gaming, Caesars Entertainment, China, Churchill Downs, Cordish Co., Crown Resorts, DraftKings, FanDuel, Florida, Golden Nugget, Greenwood Racing, Health, Internet gambling, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Macau, Maine, MGM Resorts International, Michigan, Mohegan Sun, New Jersey, Peninsula Pacific, Penn National, Pennsylvania, Politics, Regulation, Rhode Island, Rush Street Gaming, Sports, Sports betting, Taxes, Transportation, Tribal, Virginia, Wynn Resorts | Comments Off on Parx dethroned; Shreveport sleaze; Maine’s latest bet

Back to the beach; Churchill Downs comes under scrutiny

Posted on April 15, 2022 by David McKee

Golden Nugget Atlantic City was packing them in with a ‘george’ promotion. Let our East Coast correspondent tell the tale: “It was extremely busy Sunday afternoon in their atrium for the BMW X-5 giveaway. They called six names and three were MIA, so they called three more, and two of those also not there. Each person got a sealed envelope and when they got six there, one lucky person got the car, the others free slot/table play.” The next Hard Rock Atlantic City promo? Logo umbrellas that have flashlights embedded in the handles. Not as george as a BMW but darned useful.

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Posted in Architecture, Atlantic City, California, Churchill Downs, Diversity, Hard Rock International, Horseracing, Marketing, New Hampshire, New York, Ocean Resort, Problem gambling, Regulation, Revel, San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, Sports betting, Taxes, Tribal, Wynn Resorts | 5 Comments

Politics as unusual in Chicago; Caesars: Rock the casbah

Posted on April 14, 2022 by David McKee

It never seems to get easier for Chicago casino applicants, who are facing stony opposition from many of their would-be neighbors (and customers) and who also find themselves pawns in a convoluted political process. At stake is something called “aldermanic prerogative,” meaning that if you don’t want a casino in your ward, tradition dictates it goes somewhere else. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D) would dearly like to upend that custom but faces a long, uphill slog to convince a largely recalcitrant body of alderman. As for the prerogatives, they favor Bally’s Corp. and bode ill for Rush Street Gaming, while Hard Rock International is somewhere in between. Going by its architectural, developmental and financial track record, one would think Hard Rock a shoo-in for a city the caliber of Chicago but CEO Jim Allen effectively screwed himself by setting up shop 29 miles away in Gary.

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Posted in Atlantic City, Bally, Caesars Entertainment, Chicago, Culinary Union, Detroit, Hard Rock International, Horseracing, Illitch Family, Indiana, International, Lotteries, MGM Resorts International, Neil Bluhm, Nevada, New York, Penn National, Politics, Regulation, Rush Street Gaming, Station Casinos, Wall Street, Wynn Resorts | 2 Comments

Siegel’s Strip scheme; Tilman’s Rocky Mountain high

Posted on April 12, 2022 by David McKee
Photo courtesy of the Neon Museum

Siegel Group got a steal of a deal on the north Las Vegas Strip: 10 acres for $75 million. The vacant land used to be occupied, in part, by the La Concha Motel (pictured). It was also once destined for the Triple Five failsino, a project that went bust long ago. How did Siegel get such strategic acreage—across the street from Resorts World Las Vegas—for such an absurdly low price? Because Siegel could pay cash on the barrelhead, unlike rival bidders who reportedly offered even more but couldn’t write a check for the whole enchilada. “We’ve been waiting years to acquire a large piece of land in the Strip, and have been watching this site for a long time,” Stephen Siegel told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

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Posted in Arkansas, Churchill Downs, Colorado, Dan Lee, Full House Resorts, Genting, Golden Nugget, Greenwood Racing, Health, history, Illinois, Indiana, Japan, Law enforcement, MGM Resorts International, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Politics, Real Estate, Spectacle Entertainment, Taxes, The Strip, Tilman Fertitta | 2 Comments

Casinos in clover nationwide; Mega-Jottings for a Monday

Posted on April 11, 2022 by David McKee

Masters Week has come and gone, and Augusta now sinks back into an 11-month torpor. Which also helps us return to standard-edition S&G. (Seen on the marquee of the church closest to Augusta National: “This is Amen Corner.”) Where to begin?

For all the talk of inflation, shortages and hardships these days, one thing is incontrovertibly plentiful: discretionary income as manifested in gambling revenue. Every state in the upper Midwest save one is reporting casino winnings higher than 2019. The lone loser is … Illinois. No surprise there. It’s 5.5% down on the surface and when temporary Hard Rock Rockford is subtracted, the declivity is 9.5%, for a total of $119 million (inclusive). For the glass-half-full perspective, revenue is 8% higher than March 2021, when casinos were still on the comeback trail. Nor was March 2022 helped by two fewer weekend days.

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Posted in Bally, BetMGM, Boyd Gaming, Caesars Entertainment, Canada, Century Casinos, Chicago, Churchill Downs, Conventions, CQ Holdings, Current, Derek Stevens, Diversity, DraftKings, Economy, FanDuel, Full House Resorts, G2E, Georgia, Hard Rock International, Illinois, Indiana, International, Jack Entertainment, Las Vegas Sands, Macau, Marketing, MGM Resorts International, Missouri, Nevada, New York, North Las Vegas, Ohio, Palms, Penn National, Pennsylvania, Politics, Racinos, Sahara, Singapore, Sports, Sports betting, Taxes, Tribal | 1 Comment

Programming note

Posted on April 7, 2022 by David McKee

It’s Masters Week here in Augusta and the azaleas are in full bloom. Unfortunately, an encounter with a rescue cat has left my hands covered in bandages, hampering my ability to type. So I’m going to have to punt coverage of Siegel Group‘s Las Vegas Strip real estate play, an upgrade for MGM Resorts International and other issues into tomorrow. Meanwhile, stop and smell the flowers, friends.

“If you don’t know how to handle failure, then you’re going to have a tough time in your regular life.”—Georgia High School Association Assistant Executive Director Ernie Yarbrough on a riot at a youth basketball game that caused a referee to need 30 stitches.

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Optimism in Las Vegas; Bluhm bombs in Chicago

Posted on April 5, 2022 by David McKee

On his way home from Black Hawk, Colorado, gaming analyst Barry Jonas of Truist Securities popped into Las Vegas. He met with various and sundry publicly traded companies, even MGM Resorts International, for which he feels little love. He also sat down with executives from Caesars Entertainment, Station Casinos, Boyd Gaming, International Game Technology, Light & Wonder and Everi. His conclusion? “Start your engines.” What did Jonas mean by that? As he explained, “We left incrementally positive on Vegas’s outlook post-Omicron. The Strip and Locals markets appear healthy with each month since January seeing [sequential] improvement, and a full return of group/convention business pending but increasingly visible.” He also noted that slot manufacturers were seeing “increasing demand” due to “strong content,” ratifying other reports that game-buying is going to pick up well in advance of Global Gaming Expo, the normal starting gun for product purchases.

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Posted in Arizona, Bally, BetMGM, Boyd Gaming, Caesars Entertainment, California, Chicago, DraftKings, Economy, Everi, FanDuel, Florida, G2E, Hard Rock International, Health, IGT, Las Vegas Sands, MGM Resorts International, Neil Bluhm, Palms, Penn National, Politics, Problem gambling, Rush Street Gaming, Scientific Games, Sports betting, Station Casinos, Technology, Tribal, Virginia, Wall Street | Comments Off on Optimism in Las Vegas; Bluhm bombs in Chicago

Philadelphia Dead

Posted on April 2, 2022 by David McKee

Cordish Gaming, we have a problem. Not only does it turn out to have been a bad idea to site a casino in Philadelphia‘s stadium district, it was an even worse mistake by state regulators to saturate the greater City of Brotherly Love area with a fifth casino. Philadelphia Live‘s best days came at the beginning, as the inevitable curiosity factor drove business, mainly at the expense of Rivers Philadelphia. But Cordish has been steadily losing market share ever since and in February came in fourth in the market, behind even Harrah’s Philadelphia, hardly the ritziest casino in town (although the closest to a prison, we’ll give you that).

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Posted in Caesars Entertainment, Cordish Co., Marketing, Pennsylvania, Regulation, Rush Street Gaming | 1 Comment

Chicago tips its hand; Wynn loses; Thunder Down Under

Posted on April 1, 2022 by David McKee

Would somebody clue in Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D) that Neil Bluhm‘s Rush Street Gaming is no longer the majority owner of Rivers Casino Des Plaines? That honor goes to Churchill Downs. But Lightfoot is using Des Plaines as a stick with which to beat Bluhm’s (admittedly underwhelming) Chicago casino proposal, Rivers 78. Although the Chicago Sun-Times argues that Bluhm “combines real estate development skills with knowledge of gambling, and his political and business contacts here are peerless,” Lightfoot has not-so-subtly let it be known that her preference is for Bally’s Corp., whose riverfront proposal is shown above.

Bluhm is penalized by his presence, however vestigial, in the suburbs and Hard Rock International is doubly dinged by A) Hard Rock Northern Indiana in Gary and B) the “complex” air-rights negotiations inherent in its proposal. That leaves Bally’s Tribune, as it is presently called, which has conveniently predicted the highest revenue numbers, music to Lightfoot’s ears. “Bally’s is the only bidder that does not already have a property in the Chicagoland market and, therefore, is more likely to operate with independence in maximizing revenues for the Chicago casino,” her minions said. It’s also the project whose temporary casino could go up the soonest (Bluhm’s would be last) and has sweetened the pot with the pledge of $25 million, maybe more, in upfront money. It also enjoys the support of Walter Burnett, its local alderman.

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Posted in ABBA, Animals, Architecture, Australia, Bally, Boulder Strip, Caesars Entertainment, California, Chicago, Crown Resorts, Entertainment, Environment, Hard Rock International, Health, Indiana, International, Internet gambling, Japan, Law enforcement, Macau, Marijuana, MGM Resorts International, Michigan, Money laundering, Neil Bluhm, New York, Regulation, Rush Street Gaming, Sexual misconduct, Sports, Sports betting, Star Entertainment, Steve Wynn, Technology, The Strip, Tribal, Wynn Resorts | 1 Comment

Make theirs Manhattan: Hochul plays hardball

Posted on March 31, 2022 by David McKee

Representatives of New York City‘s ritziest borough have made it abundantly clear that they don’t want a casino in Manhattan. But it appears that Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) is going to impose one on them, public appetite be damned. Perhaps the most in-your-face idea being floated is a casino atop Saks Fifth Avenue—directly opposite St. Patrick’s Cathedral. In what’s no April Fool’s joke, the state budget would be approved tomorrow and with it three downstate casinos at a license fee of $1 billion each. Big Gaming has spent $300,000 on lobbying Albany and it would appear that money talks loudly up thataway. Hochul is also indebted for election dollars to the Hotel & Gaming Trades Council, whose position on the issue you can guess.

“These are jobs that pay $36 an hour, have free family health care and have a pension plan. So they are in dire straits because many of them have been out of work for two years without any immediate prospect of comparable employment,” said union President Richard Maroko. Other receptive ears include New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D), who’s on board with the casino-in-Manhattan concept and has been dickering with Las Vegas Sands. (Adams is no stranger to Monaco, by the way.) The high-roller pitch for Saks flipped the allegiance of state Sen. Liz Krueger (D), who says a casino is now okey-dokey with her as long as it’s soaking the upper class rather than the working man. “There may be support in some parts of the city for siting a casino,” she backpedaled. “I’m not so sure that my district in Manhattan [the Upper East Side] would be open to one.”

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Posted in Bally, Genting, Hard Rock International, Horseracing, Las Vegas Sands, Louisiana, Nevada, New York, Politics, Sports, Sports betting, Taxes, Tribal | Comments Off on Make theirs Manhattan: Hochul plays hardball

Baccarat constrains Strip; Sports betting tsunami ahead

Posted on March 30, 2022 by David McKee

Withered baccarat numbers meant that the Las Vegas Strip had a muted February, only a percentage point above 2019. Players dropped $599 million (-44.5%) of which the house won just $62 million (-52%). That offset a bonny month at the slots, where Strip casinos kept $336.5 million (+26.5%) on coin-in of $4.3 billion (up 32%). Non-baccarat table games gained only modestly (3.5%) to $200.5 million on 25% more wagering. By contrast with this near-stagnation, albeit at high levels of play, on the Strip, locals casinos shot 19.5% past their 2019 mark to $223 million. Downtown hopped 19% to $69 million (remember, this is a comparison to a pre-Circa era) and Reno leapt 37% to $62 million. Passenger loads into and out of Las Vegas, by the way, finally caught up with pre-Covid demand, hitting 107% of last year’s mark. While barely 100,000 of them were international travelers, that latter metric was an exponential increase.

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Posted in Boulder Strip, Caesars Entertainment, California, Colorado, Downtown, DraftKings, FanDuel, Indiana, Lake Tahoe, Laughlin, Marketing, Mesquite, North Carolina, Palms, Reno, Sports, Sports betting, Station Casinos, Taxes, The Strip, Tourism, Transportation, Tribal, Wendover | Comments Off on Baccarat constrains Strip; Sports betting tsunami ahead

Up and down the Boardwalk

Posted on March 29, 2022 by David McKee

Since we’re heavily engaged bringing the next issue of Casino Life Magazine into safely harbor, we’re reaching out to our East Coast bureau for another Atlantic City photo essay. Above, business looks pretty good at Hard Rock Atlantic City. Note the distinctive “guitar pick” inlay on the tiling.

Despite very pleasant weather outside, Ocean Casino Resort evidently had no trouble luring players to its gaming floor.

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Posted in Atlantic City, Bally, Golden Nugget, Hard Rock International, Marketing, MGM Resorts International | Comments Off on Up and down the Boardwalk

Barley’s leaves a bad taste; Woe is Star; Mega-Jottings

Posted on March 28, 2022 by David McKee

When a casino is named Barley’s Brewing Co. you’d expect to get a decent glass of suds there. Not so. Las Vegan Lon Enwright is $8 million richer—but physically damaged beyond price—after being served cleaning fluids instead of beer (the taps were in the process of being flushed and the facts are not in dispute; there is even a hint of employee malice). The former Strip wine steward has lost his sense of taste, suffers from stomach and esophageal ulcers, and is at increased of risk of cancer as a result. Literally adding insult to injury, Barley’s owner Station Casinos offered Enwright a piddling $300,000 settlement. A Las Vegas jury thought differently and awarded the plaintiff $8 million in damages. Station hasn’t said what it will do but if it’s got any decency it will pay up. However, given its “contumacious” character, we’re not hopeful but appeal to the better angels of CEO Frank Fertitta III‘s nature.

Star Entertainment is feeling the heat Down Under. CEO Matt Bekier has resigned as the government continues to investigate alleged breaches of anti-money-laundering and anti-terrorism laws. Australia has had somewhat of an anything-goes approach to the casino biz, so Bekier falling on his sword represents an inevitable reaction to this over-lenience. Last week, Crown Resorts was deemed “unfit” to operate Crown Perth (shown) but allowed to run it for the next two years under state oversight. As always, Aussie regulators know how to send a mixed message to offending casinos.

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Posted in Australia, Baseball, Boulder Strip, Charity, China, Conventions, Crown Resorts, Derek Stevens, history, Japan, Kentucky, Massachusetts, MGM Resorts International, Missouri, Money laundering, Movies, New Jersey, Politics, Regulation, Resorts World LV, Singapore, Sports, Sports betting, Star Entertainment, Station Casinos, Tourism, Transportation, Tribal, Wall Street, Wisconsin | Comments Off on Barley’s leaves a bad taste; Woe is Star; Mega-Jottings