Recovery in Vegas? It depends on where you stand

Posted on August 28, 2014 by David McKee

Chips and cardsJuly was a mixed blessing for Nevada. Gambling revenue was up 5% along the Strip, down 4% among locals and essentially flat statewide. Strip casinos won big at baccarat, with player losses increasing 16% on 24% heavier play. Non-Strip baccarat play was down 5%, with win of almost 1%. Wrote J.P. Morgan analyst Joseph Greff, ” we maintain our positive outlook for the LV Strip and believe the overall recovery will continue as 2014 progresses.”

Except for the nebulous “Balance of Clark County” and “Other” categories, all outlying gaming jurisdictions were down or flat: Downtown (-3%), Laughlin (flat), Reno (-2%), Boulder Strip (-10%), North Las Vegas (-2%), Lake Tahoe (-22.5%), Elko (-10%) and Carson Valley (-4%). It’s rough out there in the boonies.

 

Some Wall Street analysts, however, Continue reading →

Posted in Boulder Strip, Downtown, Isle of Capri, Lake Tahoe, Laughlin, Macau, MGM Mirage, Missouri, North Las Vegas, Reno, Taxes, The Strip, Tribal, Wisconsin | Comments Off on Recovery in Vegas? It depends on where you stand

Loveman’s big score; Slots come to Dayton

Posted on August 28, 2014 by David McKee

“You’re in Baltimore, baby, it says so right there, in big gray block letters on a smokestack at the trash plant just past the entrance.” Caesars Entertainment CEO Gary Loveman, long celebrated as the wizard of database market, also finds himself on the leading edge of the urbanization of gambling. He’d probably be comfortable with that description, considering that his stated vision for the casino industry is for it to be as omnipresent as McDonalds. The latest step in that direction is Horseshoe Baltimore, a gambling house whose biggest problem is that it has more would-be players than it can hold. Continue reading →

Posted in Baseball, Cordish Co., Genting, Harrah's, Internet gambling, Marketing, Maryland, Ohio, Penn National, Pinnacle Entertainment, Racinos, Sheldon Adelson, Singapore, The Strip, Transportation, Vietnam | Comments Off on Loveman’s big score; Slots come to Dayton

Caesars has a live one, Revel not

Posted on August 27, 2014 by David McKee

Even though it’s still on pace to close Aug. 31, Showboat‘s last chapter may have yet to be written. Caesars Entertainment spokesman Gary Showboat ACThompson told reporters that multiple expressions of interest in the property have been received. He added that the proverbial “interested party” was getting a tour of the place. Having reclassified Showboat with the SEC as a “discontinued operation,” there’s no chance that Caesars will keep the Showboat open on an interim basis. However, for those who work there there is now the slim but tangible chance that they’ll be able to come back under different ownership.

Revel, meanwhile, is packing away the food and drink as Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Dining, Economy, Harrah's, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Revel | Comments Off on Caesars has a live one, Revel not

Quote of the Day

Posted on August 26, 2014 by David McKee

neil-bluhm“The false premise is that somehow or other there is this tribe of gamers lost in the Mid-Atlantic states that no one has found and no one has brought in to game [sic] anywhere. There is no lost tribe of gamers out there.” — HSP Gaming Chairman Neil Bluhm, on casino saturation.

Posted in Economy, Neil Bluhm | Comments Off on Quote of the Day

Bad ideas never die; The Fugees; Left holding the bag

Posted on August 26, 2014 by David McKee

Louisiana_FlagPoliticians are ever-fond of the notion of using casinos as surrogate police, tasking them with collecting delinquent child-support payments. Louisiana has actually been doing this since 2011 and hit the jackpot: $2 million-plus to date. So where do deadbeat dads like to play? Boomtown Belle is the winner, collecting $191,006 to date and also boasting the single largest monthly haul. They’re also pretty keen on Harrah’s New Orleans ($185,256), Hollywood Casino Baton Rouge ($177,494) and Eldorado up in the Bossier City-Shreveport market ($177,392). So if you’re a deadbeat parent in Louisiana and you gamble, you’re shooting dice with Big Brother.

* The casino industry has done pretty darn little to support Rep. Dina TitusTitus (D-NV) but she’s not holding any grudges. In fact, she’s authored a bill to eliminate the federal handle tax on sports wagers. Imposed only in Nevada and Delaware, the tax constitutes a tiny fraction of a point and, when asked where the money went, the Internal Revenue Service couldn’t account for it. As Titus puts it, “This seems like a penalty being paid by Nevada.”

Cantor Gaming CEO Lee Amaitis, who set the process in motion when he asked Titus’ office for an accounting of the money, is supportive. He’d pay a Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Cantor Gaming, Delaware, Harrah's, Louisiana, Neil Bluhm, Penn National, Pennsylvania, Regulation, Revel, Sports, Taxes | Comments Off on Bad ideas never die; The Fugees; Left holding the bag

Horseshoe Baltimore launches; Hypocrisy in Indiana

Posted on August 26, 2014 by David McKee

On a “gritty stretch of Russell Street” in Baltimore, partners Caesars Entertainment and Rock Gaming are preparing to bust out their Horseshoe Baltimorelatest inner-city casino. Not only will it provide commendable urban renewal, it will also give Maryland Live! its most serious competition to date. As the Washington Post‘s map shows, they are the most centrally located of the Maryland casinos, although Maryland Live! is much larger than Horseshoe, so it will be a heavyweight and a middleweight duking it out for Baltimoreans’ money.

Live! is already projected to lose 18% of its revenue to MGM National Harbor in two years. How big of a chomp will Horseshoe make? One casino Continue reading →

Posted in Affinity Gaming, Baseball, Cordish Co., Dan Gilbert, Harrah's, Indiana, Maryland, MGM Mirage, Politics, Wall Street | 1 Comment

Quote of the Day

Posted on August 25, 2014 by David McKee

wynn-pic“We have reached a point in the state of Nevada where our current laws governing gay and lesbian marriage have made our most vital industry, tourism, uncompetitive.” — Wynn Resorts Senior Vice President of Marketing Michael Weaver, on Nevada’s gay-marriage ban. Nonetheless, Sin City ranks behind only New York City, San Francisco and Chicago as a magnet for LGBT tourism.

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

Holy Grail achieved at MGM; Greed and gouing

Posted on August 25, 2014 by David McKee

mgm-picWhile all the media hoo-ha was focused on SLS Las Vegas‘ opening last Friday, a comparably historic event took place at the other end of the Strip. New Hampshire resident Walter Misco hit the jackpot on MGM Grand‘s famously stingy Lion’s Share slot machine (the only one of its kind on the casino floor) — and after only five minutes of play, at that. Misco and wife Linda received the personal congratulations of MGM Grand President Scott Sibella … and $2.4 million. They’re going to put the swag to practical uses like getting a new car and putting their grandchildren through college.

Now that it has been tapped out, what will happen to Continue reading →

Posted in Dan Gilbert, Harrah's, MGM Mirage, New Hampshire, Ohio, Regulation, The Strip, Tourism | Comments Off on Holy Grail achieved at MGM; Greed and gouing

Party poopers

Posted on August 25, 2014 by David McKee

Burnus_sulla_spallaThose losers at Al-Qaeda are fixating on Las Vegas. In their fanzine, Palestine, they urge their followers to build car bombs and target Sin City. Nightclubs and casino floors are the high-impact targets of opportunity. (Real geniuses, these terrorist folk.) Both the Southern Nevada Counter-Terrorism Unit‘s Lt. Nichole Splinter and the Counterterrorism Training School‘s Doron Benbenisty downplay the Al-Qaeda rhetoric somewhat, with Splinter saying the threat “does not, however, interpret there is any planning or operational phases that have been identified.”

Since the citation of Las Vegas as a target came in an article about car bombs (poor weapons against nightclubs, casino floors and restaurants), law enforcement is taking with a grain of salt. Reports KVVU-TV, “Splinter said it’s not uncommon for publications like this to suggest the names of big cities to target.” Still, it behooves all of us to be vigilant, especially in a city as thickly populated as ours. Continue reading →

Posted in Election, Florida, Harrah's, International, Macau, Massachusetts, MGM Mirage, Sheldon Adelson, The Strip, Tribal | Comments Off on Party poopers

Sam’s Place

Posted on August 22, 2014 by David McKee

“The Sahara is gone. The SLS is here. Before long … we’ll only be talking about the SLS.” That was the Great & Powerful Harry Reid, administering a verbal beatdown to anyone still nostalgic for the Sahara. Reid’s dose SLSof Tough Love struck the only discordant note in the love fest for Sam Nazarian held today at the intersection of Sahara Avenue and the Las Vegas Strip, where the SLS Las Vegas was busily stirring to life. Even though the property was not officially open, its coffee shop (The Perq … Nazarian must have swiped one of Gary Loveman‘s prized Qs) was doing brisk business by 10:30 a.m. while, across the corridor, Fred Segal Jewelry was frantically applying the final touches. (“They’re the last piece to come together,” said an exec.) All over the resort, which was nominally finished ahead of schedule, somebody was busy working on something, providing a background hum of hyperactivity.

By the same token, there was a jolt in the Congo Room (converted to convention space) electricity when Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, CityCenter, Dining, Harry Reid, MGM Mirage, Sahara, Sam Nazarian, Steve Wynn | 1 Comment

Quote of the Day

Posted on August 22, 2014 by David McKee

steve-wynnSteve Wynn: What is SLS?

Sam Nazarian: “Sam loves Steve.”

— telephone exchange between Wynn and Nazarian, as retold by Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) at today’s SLS Las Vegas press conference.

Posted in Harry Reid, Sam Nazarian, Steve Wynn | Comments Off on Quote of the Day

When the punishment doesn’t fit the crime

Posted on August 21, 2014 by David McKee

Matthew Eisenberg is no Jean Valjean. Still, that’s no excuse for levying upon him a fine that is 375 times the amount he stole ($200 in Rivers Casinochips) from Rivers Casino. The fault lies not with Rivers but with Pennsylvania laws. In 2010, theft was added to the litany of casino-related crimes for which a first offense would result in a $75,000 fine. (Others included cheating and unauthorized operation of slot machines.) “What we’re doing here, we’re protecting the rights of the casino … the Legislature has placed the casino above everybody else in Pennsylvania,” Eisenberg’s lawyer argued unsuccessfully argued at trial.

However, he managed to get his case before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, which unanimously found the 75K fine unconstitutional. The justices agreed with Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Genting, Harrah's, International, Pennsylvania, Regulation, Tourism | Comments Off on When the punishment doesn’t fit the crime

Case Bets

Posted on August 21, 2014 by David McKee

Any fears of antitrust litigation in the Scientific Games/Bally Technologies merger were put to rest yesterday when the two
companies announced they had cleared the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act waiting period ahead of schedule. This is Bally_logo1hardly equal to leaping the final hurdle but a high bar has been cleared. “The transaction remains subject to approval by Bally’s stockholders, receipt of certain gaming regulatory approvals and other customary conditions,” wrote Bally spokesman Mike Trask. “The news is not a surprise as we didn’t expect any major antitrust concerns given the increasing number of competitors in the space,” Union Gaming Group analyst Robert Shore told investors.

* Convicted felon Vaughan Perry hit the wrong sort of Continue reading →

Posted in Bally Technologies, Genting, Harrah's, Japan, Macau, Melco Crown Entertainment, Ohio, Regulation, Riviera, Scientific Games, Sheldon Adelson, Singapore, TV | Comments Off on Case Bets

Revel’s 21 grand goof

Posted on August 21, 2014 by David McKee

revel_0594Revel‘s high-speed shutdown is descending into farce. Its armored-car contractor, GardaWorld, managed to lose $21,000 of long green. How? They — no kidding — left a cash bag on top of the truck. Security footage shows the cash still precariously in place by the time the truck reaches Resorts Atlantic City. Then the truck heads out on Pennsylvania Avenue and the money is never seen again.

Revel has private investigators working on the matter. We’ve all made similar goofs in our lives. But they usually involve a cup of coffee, not 21 grand.

On a more serious level, Atlantic City is facing an Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Atlantic City, Boyd Gaming, Colony Capital, Harrah's, Mississippi, Racinos, Revel, Trump Entertainment Resorts, Wall Street | 1 Comment

Quote of the Day

Posted on August 21, 2014 by David McKee

IMG-20130507-00006“From an equity perspective, in our view it is becoming almost impossible to assign an intrinsic valuation to Caesars without knowing what’s going on behind the curtain within all three individual entities, particularly on the debt side.” — Macquarie Securities analyst Chad Beynon, in an investor report entitled, “The Shell Game Picks Up Speed.”

Posted in Harrah's, Wall Street | Comments Off on Quote of the Day

MGM, Garden State peace talks continue

Posted on August 19, 2014 by David McKee

A situation in which then-MGM Mirage and shareholder Kirk Kerkorian let sentiment trump common sense has long been causing lionthem trouble in New Jersey. But no longer. The Division of Gaming Enforcement has stipulated to an agreement whereby MGM will pay $150,000 (plus $75,000 from Kerkorian’s Tracinda Corp.) ” in recognition of the seriousness of the failures to address [Terry] Christensen’s ongoing and continued involvement in their affairs following first his indictment and then his conviction.”

Christensen, an attorney and (more to the point) four-decade Kerkorian crony got MGM in hot water. In 2002, while on the MGM board of directors, Christensen hired Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Boyd Gaming, Dubai, MGM Mirage, Pansy Ho, Regulation | Comments Off on MGM, Garden State peace talks continue

Cali Tribe goes rogue and other Case Bets

Posted on August 19, 2014 by David McKee

Legislative inaction be damned, the Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel is going ahead with Internet poker. It’s already got a free play site but Internet casinoplans to go live with the real deal perhaps as early as next week. Isn’t that unconstitutional? Maybe not. The Iipay Nation cites its sovereign status and its own constitution to justify its action. It also points to the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act‘s permission of Class II games sans compact and poker is about as far from a house game as one can get. (The Iipay Nation no longer operates a physical casino.)

While the tribe could wait for the introduction of online-gambling legislation in December, it is not so inclined. “The current proposed legislation excludes all but the wealthiest gaming tribes from engaging in state-regulated online gaming. Smaller or remotely located tribes, like Santa Ysabel, would not be able to meet the financial prerequisites for participation in online gaming as currently proposed, in spite of their years of experience conducting and regulating brick-and-mortar Class II and Class III gaming,” said Santa Ysabel Interactive spokesman Dave Vialpando last month. We don’t think the State of California will take the Iipay Nation’s dare lying down, so brace yourself for the sound of a collision. Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, California, Dining, Election, Entertainment, International, MGM Mirage, Transportation, Tribal | 1 Comment

The contradictions of Sam Nazarian

Posted on August 19, 2014 by David McKee

NazarianIs Sam Nazarian becoming a legend in his own mind? You have to wonder when you read that he’s had a statue of himself erected in the front of SLS Las Vegas. Sure, Bob Stupak did the same thing at Stratosphere, but Stupak was a notorious eccentric while Nazarian is supposed to represent a new breed of businessman.

SLS is, more by necessity than choice, pursuing a bifurcated marketing strategy at its Strip hotel. On the one hand, it is taking the global view, appealing to what Nazarian calls his “tribe” — currently shaking its collective booty down at Hyde in Bellagio. “Our database has 5 million names, and the average age of our customer is 38 years old and they travel … And there are members of the tribe who are the affluent. To us, that tribe is in place as much in Hong Kong as it is in New York as it is in Las Vegas,” he says.

The other prong of the approach is to Continue reading →

Posted in California, Cosmopolitan, Entertainment, Florida, Genting, International, Japan, Marketing, MGM Mirage, New York, Pennsylvania, Sahara, Sam Nazarian, The Strip, Wall Street | 3 Comments

Life after Revel?

Posted on August 19, 2014 by David McKee

revel_0601Once safely closed — and rid of those pesky employees — Revel could find itself a valuable commodity again. Salaries really are at the crux of the issue. Current ownership is losing $2 million a week and that “black hole” is keeping potential buyers away. ‘To entice acceptable bids,’ it was necessary to close the casino-hotel. We’ll see if anyone emerges from the undergrowth by Sept. 2, the latest date for the oft-postponed bankruptcy auction.

If Revel management had its druthers, the place would already be closed. However, the state ordered it to stay in operation through Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Economy, Macau, Racinos, Regulation, Revel, Sheldon Adelson, Singapore, Sports, Taxes | 1 Comment

The return of the Strip; Panic over Macao

Posted on August 18, 2014 by David McKee

snazLas Vegas‘ recovery from the Great Recession is all but official. To be truthful, a number of us — myself in particular — thought we were being played for suckers when Sam Nazarian closed the Sahara and promised to be back with something better. Now he’s just days from opening a new, $415 million casino and green shoots are sprouting up around that. No, I don’t count that buffoonish, debt-financed All-Net Resort that’s mooted for the old Wet ‘n Wild site. However, Nazarian’s site will be flanked by a new Walgreen‘s superstore (the third such on the Strip, all of recent vintage) and MGM Resorts International‘s music-festival plaza across the Strip.

True, Fontainebleau is still a Continue reading →

Posted in Carl Icahn, Fontainebleau, Genting, International, James Packer, Macau, Melco Crown Entertainment, MGM Mirage, Sam Nazarian, Sheldon Adelson, Singapore, Steve Wynn, The Strip, Wall Street, Westgate LV | 4 Comments