Christie takes sides in casino fight; Healthy month in Missouri

Posted on January 11, 2016 by David McKee

“I can’t say it won’t ever happen, but by 2018, New York will have approved a casino in Staten Island. It needs to be now because we have the christieopportunity now.” Thus spake New Jersey State Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D), trying to light a fire under opponents of his casino-expansion bill. He picked up two heavyweight supporters over the past week. Not only does Unite-Here Local 54 President Robert McDevitt prefer Sweeney’s bill — no doubt because it restricts new casino development to existing operators and sends more tax money to Atlantic City — so does Gov. Chris Christie (R).

Calling the Lege’s impasse “disturbing,” Christie said, “Inaction should not be an option. Delay puts the expansion of gaming in peril. That is not in the interests of anyone in New Jersey, north or south.” Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto (D), alluding to Christie’s months on the campaign trail, shot back,  Continue reading →

Posted in Ameristar, Atlantic City, Georgia, Harrah's, Illinois, Isle of Capri, Massachusetts, New York, Penn National, Pinnacle Entertainment, Politics, Regulation, Steve Wynn, Tribal, Tropicana Entertainment, Unite-Here | Comments Off on Christie takes sides in casino fight; Healthy month in Missouri

Tribal headache for Connecticut; Wynn, Adelson eye New Jersey

Posted on January 8, 2016 by David McKee


Proposed new rules that would make it easier for tribes to gain federal recognition could have a seismic effect on the casino business in Connecticut. Three potentially recognized tribes could vie for as many as four new casinos. One says “four” because the Schaghticokes are split into two factions, the Schaghticoke Indian Tribe and the rival Schaghticoke Tribal Nation, both of which are seeking recognition. A plethora of new, casino-seeking tribes would upset the applecart that is the state’s longstanding relationship with the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes. Small wonder that Gov. Dannel Malloy (D) is personally lobbying Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Donald Trump, Economy, Foxwoods, Mohegan Sun, Pennsylvania, Politics, Sheldon Adelson, Steve Wynn, The Strip, Tribal | Comments Off on Tribal headache for Connecticut; Wynn, Adelson eye New Jersey

Illinois down, Indiana up

Posted on January 8, 2016 by David McKee

While surrounding states prosper at their casinos, Illinois‘ continue to suffer, especially now that they must compete with slot routes. Deutsche Grand Victoria ILBank analyst Carlo Santarelli crunched the numbers and found that even though bettors were wagering 2% more, there was a 5% decline in foot traffic. The brightest spot was MGM Resorts International‘s Grand Victoria (pictured), up 6% on a gross of $15 million. Other gainers were Neil Bluhm‘s Rivers Casino, up 2% on $36 million, Gaming & Leisure Properties‘ Casino Queen (+3%, $9 million) and Jumer’s Casino Rock Island (+1%, $6 million).

Penn National Gaming took a battering, with Argosy Belle in a disastrous, 23% spiral ($3.5 million), while Continue reading →

Posted in Ameristar, Boyd Gaming, Dan Lee, GLPI, Harrah's, Illinois, Indiana, MGM Mirage, Neil Bluhm, Penn National, Pinnacle Entertainment, Racinos, Tropicana Entertainment | Comments Off on Illinois down, Indiana up

Rage against DFS; Iowa stays stable

Posted on January 8, 2016 by David McKee

“FanDuel and DraftKings are optimized for power players to rape and pillage regular players over and over again.” So says daily fantasy sports podcaster Gabriel Harber, in the course of a lengthy New York Times Draft Kingsexpose of the DFS industry. It shows a business desperately in need of regulation, playing its games on a tilted field that favors the high rollers in the sport. According to reporter Jay Caspian Kang, the fact that a small number of players rake in most of the winnings does not prove that DFS is a game of skill and “only the sites with the biggest prize pools could survive.”

Rather, it’s “a rapacious ecosystem in which high-volume gamblers, often aided by computer scripts and optimization software that allow players to Continue reading →

Posted in Ameristar, Boyd Gaming, Economy, Harrah's, Internet gambling, Iowa, Isle of Capri, Massachusetts, Nevada, Pinnacle Entertainment, Regulation | Comments Off on Rage against DFS; Iowa stays stable

Arc de scandale; New Illinois casino nominee

Posted on January 7, 2016 by David McKee

Macao is still reeling from an embezzlement scandal involving a Wynn Macau junket operator and now $13 million has gone missing from L’Arc, a Larcsublicensee of Sociedade de Jogos de Macau and owned by SJM’s Angela Leong. This immediately raised the prospect of more governmental oversight, prompting Deutsche Bank analyst Karen Tang to write, “If Macau tightens junket regulations, we feel that more small junkets will go out of business after Chinese New Year, and even bigger junkets may face redemption pressures.”

In what was a blessing in disguise for the operators, VIP played dropped to less than 50% of gaming revenue Continue reading →

Posted in Foxwoods, Galaxy Entertainment, Illinois, Macau, Massachusetts, MGM Mirage, Mohegan Sun, Penn National, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Stanley Ho, Steve Wynn, Wall Street | Comments Off on Arc de scandale; New Illinois casino nominee

Ground shifts on i-gaming in California; T-Mobile’s new trophy

Posted on January 7, 2016 by David McKee

California took one step forward and one step back in the field of Internet gambling. A bill to legalize online poker was scratched from yesterday’s legislative agenda. If it makes you feel any better, the opposition california_state_flagof six major California tribes probably doomed the legislation from the outset. The bill was favored by PokerStars, whom the tribes want to see excluded from the Golden State under a “bad actor” clause. This is such a hot-button issue that it has doomed every previous attempt to legitimize online gambling in California, with no resolution in sight.

Elsewhere in the state house, a bill advanced out of an Assembly committee that would legalize daily fantasy sports — provided that Continue reading →

Posted in California, Cosmopolitan, Dining, Entertainment, MGM Mirage, Planet Hollywood, PokerStars, Politics, Sam Nazarian, Sports, The Strip | Comments Off on Ground shifts on i-gaming in California; T-Mobile’s new trophy

Penn owns Ohio; Adelson expands R-J

Posted on January 7, 2016 by David McKee

Gaining 19% last month, Hard Rock Rocksino reclaimed its top spot in Ohio, grossing almost $19 million and edging aside Horseshoe Casino Cleveland by one decimal point. The latter saw an 11% slippage revenues, Hollywood Casino Columbus treeswhile ThistleDown Racino continues to look like a mistake, down 7% on an $8.5 million gross. Rock Gaming Caesars managed to save some face in the Queen City, where Horseshoe Casino Cincinnati rose 4% on an $18 million gross.

But the big story was Penn National Gaming, displaying success across the board. Hollywood Columbus, in its most competitive market, grossed 18% and was up 6%, despite slot revenues that were only average. It still managed to outperform analyst expectations, as did Hollywood Casino Toledo, where coin-in was up 10% and Continue reading →

Posted in Cosmopolitan, Dan Gilbert, Eldorado Resorts, Hard Rock International, Harrah's, MGM Mirage, Ohio, Penn National, Pinnacle Entertainment, Racinos, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Steve Wynn | Comments Off on Penn owns Ohio; Adelson expands R-J

Hope for Atlantic Club; Boffo month for Maryland

Posted on January 6, 2016 by David McKee

Not so fast, says Endeavor AC about yesterday’s report that its purchase of the Atlantic Club was defunct. The would-be purchaser says it has “a very atlantic-city-hilton-casino-resortstrong and creditable private equity source to finance the acquisition and development of the Atlantic Club property as an indoor waterpark resort.” Failing that, “Endeavor is also actively considering other sites in Atlantic City.” Endeavor is already pretty seriously committed, having spent several months paying the carrying costs on behalf of Atlantic Club owner TJM Properties. It’s also publicly committed to invest up to $160 million building the water park onto the back end of the Atlantic Club (and has bought some adjoining real estate) and revive the dormant hotel. The plan was to open the water park late this year or early next year, but TJM has thrown a monkey wrench into the works. We’d advise Glenn Straub to keep pushing forward on his water-park plan for Revel.

* 2015 went out like a lion in Maryland, with near-record gaming grosses, including Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Cordish Co., Dan Gilbert, Glenn Straub, Golden Gaming, Harrah's, Japan, Law enforcement, Maryland, Penn National, Pennsylvania, Planet Hollywood, Politics, Problem gambling, Racinos, Revel, Sheldon Adelson, SLS Las Vegas, The Strip, Tourism | Comments Off on Hope for Atlantic Club; Boffo month for Maryland

Quote of the Day

Posted on January 6, 2016 by David McKee

Memo to Ted Cruz: Journalism salaries are already in the crapper. It’s called “outsourcing.”

Posted in Economy | Comments Off on Quote of the Day

Adelson’s endurance; Doom for Dotty’s?

Posted on January 6, 2016 by David McKee

Outwardly, Sheldon Adelson maintains an air of placidity regarding business affairs in Macao, where gaming revenue dropped 34% in 2015. sheldonadelsonHowever, it can’t much please him to pick up his morning newspaper and read that Wall Street is expecting more of the same in 2016. For that matter, where are the relief measures that China‘s central government promised would materialize by year’s end but somehow forgot to implement? Of all the Macao concessionaires, Adelson has borne Beijing‘s crackdown on everything from currency movement to table-game allocations with the most grace. (A real surprise, considering Sheldon’s hard-earned reputation for intemperance.)

Whether or not casino operators bought into it, gaming analysts had visions of a $100 billion-a-year Macao market by 2020 dancing in their heads, so last year’s $29 billion gross was Continue reading →

Posted in Cosmopolitan, Dotty's, Economy, Macau, Regulation, Sam Nazarian, Sheldon Adelson, Wall Street | 1 Comment

Quote of the Day

Posted on January 5, 2016 by David McKee

Diaz“I don’t think there’s a single person that, no matter how you craft this bill, is going to be 100 percent happy with it. I think the question they’re going to have to ask themselves is, ‘Can I live with the things I don’t like and the things I like about this bill in totality?’ ” — Florida state House Regulatory Affairs Chairman Jose Felix Diaz (R), on the difficulty of passage (and many moving parts) in Gov. Rick Scott‘s gaming compact with the Seminole Tribe.

Posted in Florida, Politics, Seminole Tribe | Comments Off on Quote of the Day

Suffolk Downs fights back; Scrum in New Jersey Lege

Posted on January 5, 2016 by David McKee

Boston Mayor Martin Walsh may well have thrown in the towel in his lawsuit against Wynn Everett (technically against the Massachusetts Gaming Commission) but a quartet of Suffolk Downs workers aren’t letting Judge Janet Sanders‘ dismissal of aforesaid lawsuit go down healey_maurawithout a fight. They’re suing to have the litigation reinstated. After all, state Attorney General Maura Healey had ruled that 100 hours of MGC deliberations violated Massachusetts open-meeting laws by being held behind closed doors. Judge Sanders ruled that the suit against the MGC lacked “sufficient factual allegations.” Aye, there’s the rub. Without knowing the content of the meetings, how could the litigants make substantive allegations? The Suffolk Downs foursome hopes that conundrum is enough to bring their lawsuit back from the dead.

* Let’s hope Glenn Straub is serious about his proposed water park for Revel (Straub tends to Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Colony Capital, Entertainment, Glenn Straub, Macau, Massachusetts, MGM Mirage, Politics, Racinos, Regulation, Revel, Stanley Ho, Steve Wynn, The Strip | 1 Comment

Another day in Adelsonia

Posted on January 5, 2016 by David McKee

After a weeks of ham-handed “managing” of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, controversial executive Michael Schroeder got the heave-ho, the apparent Adelson portraitprice of having brought unwanted attention to Sheldon Adelson‘s ownership. He was also an ethical cancer on the R-J, having been exposed as the author of a hit piece on Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez, in a story that “included made-up quotes and plagiarized passages.” Schroeder didn’t exactly endear himself to staffers by telling them “focus on your jobs … and don’t worry about who [the owners] are.” What a snot. Such clumsy obfuscation caused the spotlight to shine all the more brightly on Adelson.

I’m also going to go out on a limb and predict that Sheldon will be revealed as the mogul planning a 100,000-seat arena, as reported in Continue reading →

Posted in Donald Trump, Harrah's, Macau, Politics, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Steve Wynn, The Mob, The Strip | Comments Off on Another day in Adelsonia

Baha Mar, beached whale of gaming; Betfair makes a tactical retreat

Posted on January 5, 2016 by David McKee

Prospective mold and corrosion are the likely fate of unfinished Baha Mar Resort, the $3.5 billion boondoggle that is probably the biggest megaresort flop of all time. (Only Fontainebleau on the Las Vegas Strip can hope to BahaMar_Vert_TM_RENDERED GOLD_4Ccompare and it has just one hotel to Baha Mar’s four.) It’s a debacle 10 years in the making and could jeopardize the credit rating of the Bahamas, for whom it was supposed to generate 12% of the nation’s GDP. In a moment of prescience, the-CEO of Caesars Entertainment Gary Loveman pulled his company out of Baha Mar early. Whether he saw the trouble that was coming is anybody’s guess but he’s earned the right to say “told you so.”

Local tycoon Sarkis Izmirlian envisioned Baha Mar as a $900 million project. But his partners got cold feet early in the Great Recession, forcing Izmirlian to make a Faustian pact.  Continue reading →

Posted in Cirque du Soleil, Fontainebleau, Harrah's, International, Internet gambling | 1 Comment

Schneiderman tightens the squeeze on DFS; Caesars’ Korean woes

Posted on January 4, 2016 by David McKee

SchneidermanIf you’re in New York State and lost money to FanDuel and DraftKings, you may be in line for a refund. At least that’s the case if Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has his way. He’s suing the two daily fantasy sports giants to refund losses to any Empire State player, with a $5,000 penalty per loser as a consolation prize. Schneiderman contends also that the DFS companies are using misleading advertising, hyping hundreds of dollars in bonuses that can only be gained by making thousands of dollars in wagers.

DraftKings and FanDuel say they don’t take wagers — but who are we kidding? — and DraftKings attorney David Boies added that the lawsuit showed Continue reading →

Posted in Harrah's, Internet gambling, New York, Planet Hollywood, Regulation, South Korea, Sports, The Strip | Comments Off on Schneiderman tightens the squeeze on DFS; Caesars’ Korean woes

Quote of the Day

Posted on January 4, 2016 by David McKee

“Police in illegal gambling raid in south Belfast.” — contrary to what the headline’s faulty grammar implies, it was the gambling which was illegal, not the raid.

Posted in International | Comments Off on Quote of the Day

Macao ends 2015 quietly; Record visitation not good enough for Vegas

Posted on January 4, 2016 by David McKee

That “squish” you heard from across the sea was Macao‘s gaming market reporting a decrease of 21% last month, practically good news when the-parisianmeasured against November’s 32% plunge. Mind you, Macanese casinos were averaging $74 million in win per day, so the six concessionaires are crying all the way to the bank. To put it in a historical context, this is the lowest Macao revenues have been since 2010.

As luck would have it, two resorts — Studio City and Sheldon Adelson‘s St. Regis — have just opened and three megaaresorts are scheduled for this year, starting with Continue reading →

Posted in Economy, Eldorado Resorts, Environment, Horseracing, LVCVA, Macau, Melco Crown Entertainment, MGM Mirage, Sheldon Adelson, Steve Wynn, The Strip, Tourism, Wall Street, West Virginia | Comments Off on Macao ends 2015 quietly; Record visitation not good enough for Vegas

Trump’s hocus-pocus; Tribal backlash in New York

Posted on January 4, 2016 by David McKee

If there is one thing that Donald Trump is good at, it is making dealings with creditors that come out in his favor. Perhaps this fuels his current mania that he can make the rest of the civilized world bend to his personal trump 2will. What it’s meant for the casino industry is bankruptcy upon bankruptcy in Atlantic City, where he paid himself $1.5 million in 1992 to take Trump Castle out of bankruptcy, setting a pattern of self-dealing at the expense of his creditors who “were told to take less than they were owed. Workers lost their jobs.” Trump’s ass, however, was never in a sling.

Trump has no remorse toward those he stiffed, saying, “They made plenty of money on me.” In the meantime, he was leveraging Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Donald Trump, Internet gambling, New York, Regulation, Tribal, Wall Street | 2 Comments

DFS advances in Iowa, regroups in Illinois

Posted on December 31, 2015 by David McKee

Legalization of daily fantasy sports got halfway to the goal line in the 2015 Iowa Legislature. State Rep. Jake Highfill (R) hopes to get into the endzone in 2016 with a revised version of a bill that already cleared the state Iowa sealSenate. One of the things Highfill will have to reconcile with his bill is an existing Iowa law that caps social-gaming winnings at $200. That’s peanuts compared to some of the DFS payouts, most notoriously Ethan Haskell‘s controversial $350,000 gold strike. Public sentiment — to the tune of 63% of Iowans surveyed — backs Highfill.

As state Sen. Jeff Danielson (D) says, “We cannot scare ourselves to death about issues that come up. This is Iowa. We learn to adjust and protect our citizens, and we will do that in the online gaming environment as well.” Highfill’s bill will be Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Boyd Gaming, Dining, Entertainment, Glenn Straub, Illinois, Internet gambling, Iowa, MGM Mirage, New York, Regulation, Revel | Comments Off on DFS advances in Iowa, regroups in Illinois

What’s Sheldon’s game?; Penn struggles at Plainridge

Posted on December 30, 2015 by David McKee

Sheldon Adelson‘s apparent use of Las Vegas Review-Journal reporters to get back at Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez is putting him and his purchase of the newspaper under the microscope of the Nevada Gaming Control Board. Casino owners aren’t barred from owning newspapers, gosh knows, sheladelson1but are liable for activity that “might reflect discredit upon the state.” According to the New York Times, the anti-Gonzalez piece “appeared to use fabricated quotations and had the byline of a person who does not appear to exist.” The Adelson purchase has also attracted regulatory scrutiny in Pennsylvania. Ironically, Adelson and Las Vegas Sands are refusing interview requests from the very newspaper the Adelson family owns.

Adelson has already said he might import “positive characteristics” to make the Review-Journal more like his Israel Hayom. The latter is so closely aligned with the agenda of Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Economy, Horseracing, Kansas, Massachusetts, Penn National, Politics, Racinos, Regulation, Rhode Island, Sheldon Adelson, Tribal | Comments Off on What’s Sheldon’s game?; Penn struggles at Plainridge