While Sheldon Adelson‘s Las Vegas Review-Journal covered the opening of Wynn Palace from a safe distance, it has sent Richard Velotta to Macao to be on hand for today’s 
opening of Parisian Macao. What he discovered, among other things, was an inescapable plethora of advertising heralding the debut of the newest Macanese megaresort. The Chinese enclave accounts for 53% of Las Vegas Sands‘ revenue. (Wynn Resorts is even more exposed, relying on Macao for 60% of its income, while MGM Resorts International has the lowest risk profile — 33%.) So will Parisian move the needle? “The reality is that nobody knows if Wynn Palace will grow the market, or even what it will take to drive real growth in Macau at this point, especially at the high end of the market,” wrote Union Gaming analyst Grant Govertsen, “We have fairly high expectations for Parisian to be the most likely property to grow the market. Sands China does a better job than the peers in delivering what mass-market consumers wants, and Parisian should hit a sweet spot given the Chinese affinity for Europe in general, and Paris specifically.” Velotta writes that Melco Crown Entertainment‘s Studio City “dazzled guests” with its amenities but neglects to mention that, from a financial standpoint, it laid an egg. However, expectations for Parisian have boosted Sands stock, up 30% this week.
As we have seen from yesterday’s report on South Korea, Adelson is not Continue reading
express their ‘yea’ or ‘nay’ before statewide voters weigh in during the November election. Revere Mayor Brian Arrigo is neither enamored of McCain, whom he dismisses as a “fly by night” casino developer nor of the cost to the city of holding a special plebiscite: $50,000. Stonehill College political science professor Peter Ubertaccio says McCain’s strategy is a canny one — if Revere voters approve the slots parlor McCain covets, outstate voters may think twice about overriding the local mandate. “The point they will make is that, if Revere wants a slots parlor, why should voters outside the city deny them. Voters can say, ‘Hey, it’s not in my town,’” Ubertaccio told the Boston Globe. A judge has ordered Arrigo to hold the vote before Oct. 26 but Hizzoner continues to resist.
with 36 slated for Las Vegas deployment next year. The games include Smoothie Blast (where you try to assemble a virtual smoothie) and Grab Poker, in which players assemble the best hand they can by “grabbing” cards off the touch screen. The move by Caesars is the leading edge of a trend to attempt to reverse a worrisome decline in slot play: from $355 billion in 2007 (Las Vegas’ apogee) to $291 billion in 2014. The Gamblit machines are designed to appeal to Millennials’ love of interactive gambling and get past their boredom with the repetitious nature of conventional slot play. (Believe me, I understand.)
in light of the rope course he’s erecting in the property’s former porte cochere. According to 
“Give me two more years to see if there’s a recovery here.” Now there’s a man who takes the long view. In the meantime, he’s expanding Galaxy’s reliance on mass-market play and attractions. Considering that the mass market has gone from providing 25% of Macao’s revenue five years ago to half now, Lui is definitely on the right track, especially since Galaxy is now the lead dog in Macao, having bested Sands China. “While Macao’s gambling industry has hit the bottom, it’s still too early to call it a recovery,” he cautioned Bloomberg News. That puts Lui on the opposite side of the field from Sands CEO Sheldon Adelson and MGM Resorts International CEO Jim Murren, who are already taking victory laps based on August’s tiny increase in gaming revenues. Lui’s goal is grow by 20% the amount of revenue it collects from day trippers and other “recreational gamblers.” To that end, a theme park and an event center are planned.
Relations Board, 
order to point out the $88 billion dollars would be wagered illegally on the NFL this season. That’s a lot of revenue that the federal government is allowing to escape, especially when so many states and cities could benefit from legalized, regulated sports betting. In addition to being able to cite popular support for his position, Freeman is able to point to allies in the public sector who share his views. If you scroll way, waaaaaaaayyy down the minutes of the last United States Conference of Mayors, you find that 
get another 25 on New Year’s Day and 
gaming revenues is another) if the tribe continues to defy the Internal Revenue Service, as seems likely. While the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988, casino revenues are taxable. In case you’re wondering, Florida‘s Seminole Tribe pays them. Heck, the Miccosukee Tribe doesn’t even have a compact with the Sunshine State. However, its annual slot revenues could be as high as $106 million. Writes Miami Herald columnist Nick Sortal, “Among the spending priorities in IGRA are funding tribal government programs and the general welfare of the tribe — taking care of everyone. If those needs are met, a tribe can then distribute annual payments to tribal members. But the tribe must have a Revenue Allocation Plan, which is approved by the Secretary of the Interior. Guess which tribe refuses to do that?” This cannot be what Sen. John McCain (R) had in mind when he fathered IGRA, all those years ago.
unnamed New England tribe 
Lawmakers passed this little “gift” during the most recent session of the Lege 
(Kudos to those analysts who bet the house would win.) With Sands Parisian just days away from its soft opening, we seem to have finally hit bottom in Macao and are likely to see — at least in the near term — some upward momentum. However, the analyst community is cautioning investors not to break out the champagne just yet. After all, the VIP players continue to give Macao a wide berth. One such cautionary note was sounded by Morgan Stanley‘s Praveen Choudhary, who wrote, “We believe it is much more difficult to ramp up a new property in a low growth environment, based on Studio City’s and Galaxy Macau Phase 2’s performances.” But at least there is now a solid basis for hope.
Yesterday, my wife and I said goodbye to our beloved cat Rascal. He had contracted a very malignant and aggressive cancer of the mouth, and had quickly wasted away. Finally, it reached the point where he could no longer eat or drink and was losing the ability to walk steadily. There comes a point where you know you can’t prolong the suffering one day more and Thursday, sadly, was that day. Rascal was put to sleep very gently and compassionately by the caregivers at Mountain Vista Animal Hospital. They are true angels and 
casino accounting, slot revenues from the last weekend of the month will be counted as part of August’s total. Casinos on the Las Vegas Strip snapped a 10-month baccarat slump, as wagers grew 13% and the house won 41% more than last year. Players were similarly unlucky at other table games: Wagering was flat but casinos still won 21% more. A 4% increase in slot handle produced a corresponding uptick in revenue, good for $273 million. The lack of revenue data on final-weekend slot play may have hurt locals casinos more, as they were down 5% in July. Slot revenues dropped 7% (despite 2% more coin-in) while table game play saw 4% less betting but 14.55 more win for the house.
one for Wynn Boston Harbor. At least that’s the speculation raised by Wynn’s recent purchase of 40 acres of derelict General Electric property. Three of those acres will be dedicated to a public park. As for the remaining 37, Everett Mayor Carlo DeMaria — riding high after successfully shepherding Wynn Boston Harbor through the political process — has retained Redgate Real Estate Advisors “to help us do some development planning down at the GE site … We want to get a pedestrian footbridge down there connecting us to Wellington Station. That change would really drive property values up off of the Main Street area,” says Hizzoner.
cost the casino only $1.3 million a year to preserve health benefits (much less than the revenue the casino is forfeiting thanks to the strike) 
beyond