Cornrows and casinos

Posted on October 9, 2014 by David McKee

Those who argue that Iowa is saturated with casinos found plentiful ammunition in the latest set of revenue numbers from the state. True, HardWild Rose Rock Sioux City is doing far better than its predecessor, Argosy Sioux City. Also, Harrah’s Council Bluffs, long one of the problem children of the Caesars Entertainment brood, is on the comeback trail, up 5%. There’s not much good news beyond that: a 2.5% lift at Catfish Bend, and flat results at the Isle Casino & Hotel at Waterloo and Terrible’s Lakeside. Otherwise, the dips ranged from 1% at Isle Lady Luck to 18% at Wild Rose Clinton (above).

Except for Ameristar Council Bluffs (-2%), none of the casinos grossed nearly as much as two of the racinos: Continue reading →

Posted in Affinity Gaming, Ameristar, Bally Technologies, Boyd Gaming, G2E, Harrah's, Isle of Capri, Penn National, Pinnacle Entertainment, Warner Gaming | Comments Off on Cornrows and casinos

Study: Casinos bring down crime rate

Posted on October 8, 2014 by David McKee

“La, la, la, I DON’T HEAR YOU!” That’s the sound of casino opponents reacting to a new study that shows a 9% decline in murder, rape, robbery,
Foxwoods_Casinoaggravated assault, burglary, larceny, motor vehicle theft and arson in a 30-mile radius of Foxwoods Resort Casino and Mohegan Sun since their opening. It’s these types of crimes we’re always told will escalate when a new casino opens. However, with so much cash changing hands, perhaps we should not be surprised that the value associated with these crimes escalated 39%. Western Connecticut State University‘s Francis Muska, who conducted the study, found the latter statistic “stunning.”

The study area reported 29,335 crimes in a five-year pre-casino era and 26,590 in a parallel post-casino era. When the number of crimes committed at casinos was subtracted, the crime rate dropped Continue reading →

Posted in California, Economy, Foxwoods, Mohegan Sun, Regulation, Tribal | Comments Off on Study: Casinos bring down crime rate

Funeral garb for Harmon; Death blow to Dotty’s?

Posted on October 8, 2014 by David McKee

Although it’s there to protect pedestrian, it’s fitting that the corpse of Harmon Hotel is shrouded in widow’s weeds. MGM Resorts International will be holding a protracted funeral for the first Las Vegas Harmoninihotel to close without ever housing a single guest. Deficiencies in structural rebar left the Harmon vulnerable to earthquakes and an implosion would probably smash Crystals to bits, so MGM will be taking the Harmon apart bit by tiny bit. You can watch the spectacle unfold now through next May. In the end, it probably worked out well for MGM: There’s one less hotel exerting downward pressure on hotel rates and would-be managers Light Group have been nothing but bad news. Perhaps the company should be congratulating itself on its good luck.

* Slot-parlor chain Dotty’s, which operates in a legal gray area, is finding itself in the hot seat again. The Nevada Resort Association, Station Casinos and Golden Gaming are pushing a county ordinance that would prohibit Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Dotty's, Golden Gaming, International, MGM Mirage, Politics, Singapore, Station Casinos, The Strip | 1 Comment

Okada going slowly; Mixed news in Indiana

Posted on October 8, 2014 by David McKee

Kazuo Okada is butting heads with the Philippine government again. The latter says Okada has to have Marina Bay Resorts open by March of next year Tiger-Resort-Okada-Manila-Bay-Resorts_01-e1402018244904or forfeit a $2 million guarantee. Okada, whose project has been dogged by regulatory problems, is sticking to a late 2015 deadline. “We are still doing our utmost to be open by the end of 2015,” said Executive Vice President of Gaming Operations & Marketing Matt Hurst, making it sound as though that two mil is as good as gone.

The casino, when it opens, will be a behemoth that sports 3,000 slots and 500 table games. Okada, however is shopping for the mandated Continue reading →

Posted in Boyd Gaming, Harrah's, Indiana, International, Kazuo Okada, Ohio, Penn National, Pinnacle Entertainment, Racinos, Regulation, Tropicana Entertainment | Comments Off on Okada going slowly; Mixed news in Indiana

Ohio: Success and saturation; The many excuses of Glenn Straub

Posted on October 7, 2014 by David McKee

Now that all four casinos and seven racinos are open, Ohio posted a spectacular year/year increase of 36% in gambling revenue. However, Toledo Casinosuccess came at a price, in terms of an 8% decline in same-store revenue, indicative of a saturated market. For instance, Penn National Gaming‘s Hollywood Toledo was up 3% year/year but slot revenue was down $21 per slot per day from August. Table play, however, (which racinos can’t offer) was up from $1,127/table/day in August to $1,234 in September.

Penn’s two, new, Hollywood-branded racinos came out of the gate with a vengeance. Hollywood Dayton averaged a win/slot/day of $207 — more than double the Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Glenn Straub, Hard Rock International, Harrah's, MTR Gaming, Ohio, Penn National, Racinos, Revel, Wall Street | Comments Off on Ohio: Success and saturation; The many excuses of Glenn Straub

Maryland: First, the good news; Here, kitty, kitty

Posted on October 7, 2014 by David McKee

Great_Seal_of_Maryland_reverseMaryland casinos hit another monthly record — $82 million — boosted by Horseshoe Baltimore. Revenues at Maryland Live fell 10%, to $45.5 million — boosted by 50,000 customers over the Labor Day weekend — and Horseshoe raked in $22 million. Those results are roughly proportional to the casinos’ respective sizes. Casino President Rob Norton said the numbers were “far better than what most of the state’s analysts projected.” Hollywood Casino Perryville slipped 11%, to $6 million, while way out in Rocky Gap, the casino-resort actually saw a revenue increase, up 16% to $4 million.

* One of the by-blows of Paragon Gaming‘s takeover of operations at the Riviera is the displacement of entertainment programming onto Continue reading →

Posted in Alex Yemenidjian, Cordish Co., Entertainment, Harrah's, Maryland, Riviera, The Strip | Comments Off on Maryland: First, the good news; Here, kitty, kitty

Macao glass half-full

Posted on October 7, 2014 by David McKee

Macao CathedralAlthough U.S. casino executives are whooping it up that anti-corruption probes are being curtailed in China, the damage continues to be done, judging by last month’s numbers in the VIP sector. The latter was down 26% while mass market play was up 15%. MGM Grand Paradise and Wynn Macau increased their mass-market table play by 36% and 29%. Already heavily exposed to the mass market, Sands China managed a relatively lean 15% increase, while Melco Crown Entertainment shot up 37%, improving dramatically on its summer gains.

Analysts warn of the oncoming effect of a weak Golden Week and the effects of a smoking ban on Macao‘s Continue reading →

Posted in IGT, Japan, Macau, MGM Mirage, Rhode Island, Sheldon Adelson, Stanley Ho, Technology, Wall Street | Comments Off on Macao glass half-full

Kentucky’s failure claims victim

Posted on October 6, 2014 by David McKee

BavarianBrewingOccasionally, as casino gambling tries to expand in the U.S., some innocent bystander gets taken down. That could literally be the case with the Bavarian Brewery Building, a crenellated fixture of the Covington, Kentucky, skyline since 1877. It 2008 it was bought by Columbia Sussex Corp., which was betting that incoming Gov. Steve Beshear (D) could get casino gambling through the Legislature. However, Beshear has failed time and again, and ColSux CEO William J. Yung III is of a mind to demolish the Bavarian Brewery.

At this news, location preservations sprang to action. It may be too late. Photographs of the crumbling brewery suggest Yung hasn’t Continue reading →

Posted in Columbia Sussex, history, Kentucky, Politics | Comments Off on Kentucky’s failure claims victim

Most happy fella; Grumbling on the Boardwalk

Posted on October 6, 2014 by David McKee

Although Sheldon Adelson was laying covetous eyes upon the Meadowlands last week — and reiterating his risible drivel about the MarkJulianomystical power of brick-and-mortar casinos to deter problem gambling — for the time being Las Vegas Sands is upping its bet on Sands Bethlehem. While, by Vegas standards, doubling your room inventory to 600 and increasing your meeting space to handle 500 people doesn’t sound like much, it’s big news back east. There will also be a non-Mario Batali Italian restaurant and one of the Emeril Lagasse restaurants will be swapped out in favor of another, more Cajun-focused.

Sands Bethlehem President Mark Juliano, the man charged with overseeing all this, is the subject of an engaging profile … albeit one which questions whether his anti-loitering program is Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Carl Icahn, Dining, Glenn Straub, Hard Rock Hotel, Marketing, Pennsylvania, Problem gambling, Revel, Sam Nazarian, Sheldon Adelson, Singapore, The Strip, Trump Entertainment Resorts | Comments Off on Most happy fella; Grumbling on the Boardwalk

Scandal brushes Wynn Boston

Posted on October 3, 2014 by David McKee

Federal and Massachusetts state authorities have filed charges against three men who sold land to Wynn Resorts for its Everett casino project. Mob wynn-resorts-everett-casino298c6dcb94associate Charles Lightbody, Anthony Gattineri and Dustin DeNunzio have been indicted on a spectrum of felonies that include wire fraud, document forgery, evidence tampering, and assault and battery. Of the owners of the highly toxic site, only Paul Lohnes escaped indictment. (How much you wanna bet he turns state’s evidence?) Gattineri and DeNunzio face indictment for allegedly conspiring to hide convicted felon and Cosa Nostra-tied  Lightbody’s co-ownership. “The state investigation revealed that these three defendants allegedly attempted to hide Lightbody’s involvement in the company because he has a criminal record,” prosecutors elaborated.

All Wynn Resorts would say about the incendiary news was,  Continue reading →

Posted in CityCenter, Current, Massachusetts, MGM Mirage, Mohegan Sun, Regulation, Steve Wynn, The Mob, The Strip | Comments Off on Scandal brushes Wynn Boston

Let the games begin

Posted on October 3, 2014 by David McKee

After New Jersey‘s attorney generally unilaterally declared sports betting to be legal in the Garden State, the U.S. Department of Justice and four New Jersey flagmajor sports leagues expressed their displeasure by going to court, seeking a reversal of the edict. In return, the New Jersey legislature is weighing legislation that would “repeal all prohibitions, permits, licenses and authorizations concerning sports betting at Atlantic City casinos or gambling houses and horse tracks throughout the state.” There can be no question that Atlantic City needs the extra dough and I don’t hear any racetracks complaining either. The linchpin of the pro-sports-betting argument is that it’s legal so long as the state isn’t the sponsor of the wagering. We’ll see how well that holds up before the bench.

* Phil Ivey is getting his day in court, as he pursues a lawsuit against Genting Group. The latter wouldn’t honor Ivey’s winnings at Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Environment, Genting, International, MGM Mirage, Reno, Sports | Comments Off on Let the games begin

Atlantic City: Dim hopes and massive debts

Posted on October 2, 2014 by David McKee

Brookfield Property Partners, new owners of Revel is planning to get back into the casino wars in Atlantic City. “Revel is a brand-new trophy revel_0606asset on the beachfront, which we are acquiring at a substantial discount to replacement cost. We are excited about owning the newest and highest-quality asset in Atlantic City at such an attractive basis,” said spokeswoman Melissa Coley of Brookfield’s $110 million acquisition. (The purchase price at least brings ROI into feasible range, depending on how much debt carries over.) Brookfield will reopen the casino and it has something that Revel 1.0 and 1.1 didn’t: a player database from Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Carl Icahn, Economy, Glenn Straub, Hard Rock Hotel, International, Revel, Trump Entertainment Resorts, Wall Street | 1 Comment

Sinatra 1, Pandas 0

Posted on October 2, 2014 by David McKee

Euphemisms have a way of sanitizing everything. For instance, there are no longer mercenaries — instead they are “contractors,” which makes them panda-picsound like somebody you’d have install your pool deck. And in Las Vegas we don’t have celebrity impersonators, we have “tribute” shows. The latest — and most prominently platformed — is Bob Anderson‘s Frank, The Man, The Music. This Sinatra impersonation will debut at Palazzo on Jan. 27, slated for a one-year run. It replaces Panda!, which never quite caught on, despite nearly a year’s tenure. (Why see Panda! when you can get tickets to KA, of which more anon.) Backing Anderson will be a band under the guidance of former Sinatra collaborator Vince Falcone.

Other luminaries connected with the show are Continue reading →

Posted in Cirque du Soleil, Entertainment, G2E, Massachusetts, Penn National, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, The Strip, Wall Street | Comments Off on Sinatra 1, Pandas 0

The next big thing

Posted on October 2, 2014 by David McKee

Posted in Bally Technologies, G2E, Technology, TV | 1 Comment

All Wynn, all the time

Posted on October 1, 2014 by David McKee

Continue reading →

Posted in Carl Icahn, Economy, Fontainebleau, G2E, Internet gambling, Macau, Marketing, Maryland, MGM Mirage, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, Politics, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Steve Wynn, Tamares Group, Taxes | Comments Off on All Wynn, all the time

Wynn: Think big; Genting: Spend big

Posted on October 1, 2014 by David McKee

When Steve Wynn opened The Mirage in 1989, it was the beginning of the end of the era when the casino was the dominant revenue source in Las steve-wynnVegas resorts. Restaurants, shows and hotel rooms all became profit centers. But he also started identifying his properties with free, iconic attractions. “We started putting things in front of the building that didn’t have a cash register in front of them,” he told an audience at Global Gaming Expo yesterday. Of Vegas’ mystique, he said, “It was never the slot machines. The machines has no power unto itself … It’s about things that give people a chance to live big.” Wynn’s taken that vision successfully from Macao to Boston. (But not Atlantic City, a metropolis that staunchly resists becoming a destination.)

Putting it in rather graphic terms, Wynn said, “You’ve got to give people something they’re willing to get on an Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Entertainment, Florida, G2E, Genting, Harrah's, history, Macau, Massachusetts, MGM Mirage, New Hampshire, New York, Steve Wynn, The Strip | Comments Off on Wynn: Think big; Genting: Spend big

Quote of the Day

Posted on October 1, 2014 by David McKee

Wynn tux“Boston’s a destination educationally, in terms of research, in terms of medical research and technology research. Boston is a little bit like Silicon Valley, and it’s a financial centre of major international proportions. Boston has got museums. It’s a serious place.” — Steve Wynn, on his newest casino market. It also turns out that Wynn may have jumped the gun when announcing Wynn Resorts‘ exoneration in a Macao anti-corruption probe.

Posted in Macau, Regulation, Steve Wynn, Technology, Tourism | Comments Off on Quote of the Day

Revel: Straub loses

Posted on October 1, 2014 by David McKee

Bids are in for Revel and the white elephant goes to … Brookfield Asset Management, owner of the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas. (The fund is revel_0409obviously fond of problem children.) Brookfield’s winning bid was $110 million, leaving stalking-horse bidder Glenn Straub in the dust. Straub has threatened to sue on the grounds that the bankruptcy-court process lacked transparency. He’s also offered to up his bid to $134 million. C’mon, boys: Is Revel really worth starting a fight? (Straub’s complaints will be heard on Oct. 20.)

We probably haven’t heard the last of Straub, who has lain covetous eyes upon the shuttered Showboat. However, his ideas for Revel spelled certain Continue reading →

Posted in Donald Trump, Election, Glenn Straub, Hard Rock Hotel, Harrah's, Horseracing, Massachusetts, Morgans Hotel Group, Penn National, Regulation, Revel, Trump Entertainment Resorts | 3 Comments

Sanguine at Penn; Serrano goes Italian

Posted on October 1, 2014 by David McKee

Penn logoExecutives from Penn National Gaming were hosted by J.P. Morgan analysts this week at Global Gaming Expo and gave a fairly mellow outlook on business. Nationally, commerce is seen as stabilizing but not having bottomed out yet, although Penn is “holding up very well.” Horseshoe Baltimore is having little impact to date on Penn’s Charles Town Races & Slots. The company’s two new racinos in Ohio — Hollywood Dayton and Hollywood Mahoning Valley — are meeting expectations, although there are only four days of data on the former from which to prognosticate.

Penn seemed impressed with the speed of the New York State casino-licensing process, which could come to a head by Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Dining, Election, G2E, Harrah's, history, Maryland, Massachusetts, MGM Mirage, New York, Ohio, Penn National, Politics, Racinos, Regulation, Steve Wynn, The Strip, Wall Street, West Virginia | Comments Off on Sanguine at Penn; Serrano goes Italian

KOA gets the boot

Posted on September 30, 2014 by David McKee

MGM Resorts International is obviously planning something — we don’t know what — for the KOA Campground site at Circus Circus. That’s the logical conclusion to be drawn from yesterday’s announcement that KOA is packing up and taking over campsite operations at Circus-Circus-picSam’s Town. “Effective October 1, the park will be renamed the Las Vegas KOA at Sam’s Town, and become KOA’s new, exclusive home in Las Vegas,” reads the press release.

From this we can glean two things. One, Boyd Gaming is unloading the cost and responsibility of running a large RV park onto an outside operator. Second, KOA Campground and Rock in Rio, which is Continue reading →

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