GameCo CEO Blaine Graboyes promised that his company’s first skill-based slots would be rolled out in Atlantic City … and he was as good as his word. While the eyes of the industry were on Las Vegas for Global Gaming Expo, it was announced that the 
Boardwalk would be the recipient of GameCo’s first skill-based product. (In fairness, it should be noted that Graboyes is “not in love with the term skill-based slots” but we can’t think of anything better.) Caesars Atlantic City, Harrah’s Resort and Bally’s will jointly debut Danger Arena. Its minimum wager is 50 cents but you can bet up to $20 on your ability to “shoot” digitally animated robots. The game contains 10,000 “maps,” randomized in their degree of difficulty, to provide the required element of chance. Graboyes told The Bergen Record that it’s a more “cartoonish” game than other first-person-shooter ones like Call of Duty. As for his choice of Atlantic City as his primary market, Graboyes cited his nostalgic fondness for the Boardwalk, an attachment dating back to his youth.
The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement hasn’t signed off on Danger Arena yet but, if it does, expect a stampede for the game: Applications are pending in Nevada, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and maybe even Continue reading
He’s advancing a bill that would bar any casino owner who closes his business from reopening for five years. Is Uncle Carl willing to wait that long? Whelan’s betting against it. And it remains to be seen why the Taj employees have been singled out by Icahn for punishment for trying to obtain a living wage. His insistence on maintaining the vile Bob Griffin‘s wage and benefit cuts is costing Icahn far more than it’s saving him. At any rate, Whelan’s bill sailed unanimously through the Senate Budget Committee, although no Assembly counterpart has been written yet.
win that was reported in August softened the blow, contributing to a 13% increase in gross gaming revenue from local players. Comparisons in September don’t get easier, as last year was a strong month for baccarat (up 20%) and 2% better on the Strip overall. This August, slot handle on the Strip dipped 3% but win was down 5%. Table wagering fell 12% but the house got pummeled, with win plummeting 24%. (Nevada now includes poker in “table games,” presumably in hopes of making the numbers look better.) Minus baccarat, the table-game picture wasn’t so bad, off 8% on 6% less wagering. Baccarat “win” was catastrophic, plunging 42% on 18% less play.
Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton (R), who has thrown a legislative Hail Mary, attempting to reverse the Obama administration’s interpretation of the Wire Act. At least that seems to be Cotton’s intent, which could be as broad as to ban Internet gambling altogether. Trouble is, the bill has a number but 
opening of Wynn Palace “very clean,” with “solid” VIP business. Hotel occupancy is running a 70%, although two-thirds of those rooms are comped. No cannibalization of Wynn Macau business has been seen, “noting the bifurcation of the market remains pronounced between Cotai and Peninsula customers.” Closer to home, the company sees “stable” group business and “rational” pricing. Gaming business was described as “flattish,” with all-important baccarat “less bad,” even stable. The Wynn board continues to withhold judgment on Wynn Paradise Park, while construction continues to ramp up at Wynn Boston Harbor, which has 500 workers on staff. A May 2019 opening is planned.
New Jersey, expansion PAC Our Turn NJ is closing up shop. That means that well-heeled potential casino developers Jeff Gural and Paul Fireman (the two frontrunners) are out of the fight. 
pronouncement that going into Bethlehem was “a mistake.” After all, it’s beating the pants off most of its competitors and — when it comes to table-game play — is in a class of its own, making $228 million last year. Sands Bethlehem is going to invest $40 million into an extension of the gaming floor, right up to the shores of the Lehigh River. This enlargement, described as being the size of two football fields, will give Sands Pennsylvania’s largest gaming floor — would you expect Sheldon to settle for anything less?
upbeat verbiage from Steve Wynn), analyst Christopher Jones wrote, “The awareness of the Parisian among gamblers was high, with Sands having blanketed the region with social media impressions of the new property over the last couple months. “This is in contrast to the recent Wynn Palace opening that took a more passive strategy relative to marketing, prior to opening. We believe that Wynn is looking to address this, as it adjusts to the operating environment in Cotai.” 
“By 2018, at the latest, some casinos failing to make ends meet would be forced to restructure. But the point is, why does the market cling to the hope of a turnaround,defying the fact that the gambling business has already developed excessively in Macao?” — Delta Asia Financial Group Chairman Stanley Au Chong-kit, 
“TEN” but we don’t go for that all-caps tomfoolery at S&G). Ten was chosen as preferable to “Zen.” “Ten joined with our infinity logo represents our mission to provide the highest-rated amenities and our daily endeavor to offer an infinitely perfect escape for our guests, families and businesses,” said property CEO Robert A. Landino. There will be one holdover from the old Revel team in the form of CFO Alan Greenstein, who presumably knows where all the bodies are buried. Ten 
the ballot question. What’s in it for them? Management of the northwesternmost casino, which would siphon business away from the Branson, Missouri area. (Branson businessman Marc Williams is also a campaign backer.) Arkansas Winning Initiative, as the campaign is called, is hotly opposed by the state’s horse tracks, which have VLTs, to the tune of a hundred grand. Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a casino opponent, 
Eldorado will pay $1.7 billion for Isle — or $23 a share (and 
“These folks are going to have to pony up the paper,” said U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Benjamin Goldgar, 
rival Indian communities held confidential meetings about ways to stop it, according to depositions released Wednesday.” However, if any minutes of those meetings were kept, 
projections were all over the place. “We get the sense that expectations remain low with respect to medium term VIP trends,” he added. There was a lot of talk about “player acquisition” (read: poaching from the competition) but concrete strategy was lacking. Santarelli concluded that “we think ultimately product quality leads the way, with customer reinvestment following.” Of the two new megaresorts, he was slightly more taken with Parisian, due in part to the critical mass of properties surrounding it. He also like its “inexpensive room product,” which would incentivize longer stays and Sands China‘s large, existing, mass-market base, from which it could “prune” customers for the new property. “Unfortunately, we leave with little confidence in either direction as we believe the market is at least stable, but believe more robust growth expectations are a function of the tail wagging the dog, given the moves in the stocks of late,” Santarelli added.
in Internet revenue, up to $16 million. Slot revenue of $167 million was down 5% on 4% less coin-in. Table-game revenue, just over $60 million, fell 10% as players wagered 10% less. Players bet 13% less at Borgata‘s tables but took the house to the cleaners, as it won 29% less, leading to an overall 8% dropoff in gambling revenue. Not an auspicious debut for the MGM Resorts International era at the Borgata . (Slots did bring in 1% more than last year, on flat slot handle.) Despite some tightening of the Internet-gambling market, Borgata is still the lead dog, although Resorts Digital has finally gotten out of last place, slipping past Tropicana Atlantic City (pictured) by a fraction of a percentage point.