Quote of the Day

Posted on March 17, 2014 by David McKee

“My candid answer is nobody knows what will happen except God and he hasn’t told me.” — state Rep. Robert Elliott (R), on the future of wannabe racino Rockingham Park, in New Hampshire.

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Case Bets: ‘Net-bet wrangle; Showdown on Fremont Street; New England update

Posted on March 17, 2014 by David McKee

Get your tickets now for next week’s  iGaming North America 2014 conference, to be held at Planet Hollywood. The thought of a keynote speech by Ultimate Poker‘s Tom Breitling doesn’t get our pulses racing — but one of the marquee events is going to Las Vegas Sands‘ Andy Abboud and Caesars Interactive CEO Mitch Garber a-wrasslin’ over the merits of online gambling. At least we hope there will be some fireworks. If they were just elaborately polite to one another, that would be a waste of attendees’ money and — at $595 to $1,495 — attendees are entitled to some verbal fisticuffs from those two.

mermaidsMost people hear the term “a bar” and think it means one bar. Downtown casinos have done some creative listening and taken it to mean multiple al fresco libation stations. Because Mermaids and La Bayou owner Steve Burnstine isn’t a member of Fremont Street Experience, he’s been barred (pun intended) from setting up outdoor liquor stands of his own. He can only grind his teeth as the Golden Gate and other nearby casinos do a brisk trade at their pop-up bars. The Experience has also been trying to have it both ways, urging a crackdown on packaged liquor sales, the better to Continue reading →

Posted in Downtown, Foxwoods, Internet gambling, Maine, Mohegan Sun, Racinos, Sheldon Adelson, Station Casinos, Transportation | 1 Comment

‘Pawn Shop’ moves to Strip

Posted on March 14, 2014 by David McKee

If you haven’t seen Pawn Shop Live! at the Golden Nugget, you’ve still got a couple of weeks to do so but on April 17 it reopens at the Riviera. Don’t go expecting a stage version of Pawn Stars. Directed by Troy Heard, Pawn Shop Live! is a satirical mashup of elements that’s more like an “origins” story of Rick, Corey and Chumlee. Audience reaction has been mixed, so expect some revisions when the show reopens at the Riv.

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What’s this thing called ‘Adelaar’?

Posted on March 14, 2014 by David McKee

AdelaarA tragic saga for the Concord Resort Hotel could have a belated, sort-of happy ending. Empire Resorts and EPR Properties want to build a new, casino-based resort — called Adelaar — on the site. Empire is a stalking horse for Genting Group, which explains the megaresort budget of $750 million. Beyond gambling — 2,150 slots and 32 tables — Adelaar (Dutch for “Eagle”) would offer “an entertainment hall, spa and shops, as well as an 18-hole golf course and family resort featuring a conference center, an indoor water park and an outdoor adventure park … Plans call for several hotels, a snow tube run, zip lines and a mountain coaster.” And they say they could get started within a month of approval. That’s because they’ve already been working on pulling permits.

According to the New York Times, Empire and EPR are moving quickly, to try and thwart Cordish Gaming and Penn National Gaming, both of whom Continue reading →

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Mega-casino proposed for Chicago; REIT-mania continues

Posted on March 14, 2014 by David McKee

RitaVisualize Foxwoods Resort Casino. Now plunk it down in the middle of Chicago. That’s essentially what state Rep. Robert Rita (D) proposes to do, pitching a 4,000-10,000-position casino for the Windy City. He also would have the State of Illinois get into the casino business by owning the Chicago mega-casino directly. That’s a nice, little “eff you” to all those struggling, private-sector gaming operators in the Land of Lincoln, isn’t it? Rita’s proposal is certain to bump into opposition from Gov. Pat Quinn (D), who wants to see all new casino tax dollars dedicated toward education, whereas Rita wants some of the theoretical wealth put into construction projects.

“It’s not the big, giant gaming expansion,” Rita claimed, although his alternate piece of legislation looks mighty expansive from here: a slightly smaller casino (6,000 gambling positions) in Chicago, four outstate casinos and an unspecified number of racinos. Rockford and Danville would no longer be assured casinos of their own. The quota of slots per racino has also been Continue reading →

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New York’s challenge; History repeats itself as farce

Posted on March 13, 2014 by David McKee

Seal_of_New_York.svgWasting no time, the New York State Gaming Commission appointed three experienced public servants to the Resort Gaming Facility Location Board and gave them a June deadline to accept bids. That’s light speed compared to Massachusetts. It also overshadowed something that ought to dampen the ardor of Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) and others. According to a study by Phoenix Marketing, gamblers in New York State have the lowest daily spend of any in the Mid-Atlantic region. The big spenders still head to Atlantic City.

Borgata ($478), Trump Taj Mahal ($450) and Golden Nugget Atlantic City ($444) headed the list, while the bottom five were all New York State properties. (Only players’ club members qualified for inclusion in the survey.) They were: Continue reading →

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Nose candy at Mandalay Bay; Remembering Gaughan

Posted on March 13, 2014 by David McKee

Mandalay-Bay-picIt’s a measure of how lucrative nightclubs are that casino companies are willing to run the attendant risks. (Put another way, by contrast to nightclubs, casinos look as staid as banks.) Case in point, MGM Resorts International‘s half-million-dollar settlement with the Nevada Gaming Control Board over repeated instances of drug dealing and prostitution at House of Blues‘ Foundation Room. In response to a two-month NGCB undercover investigation, MGM sacked several Foundation Room employees and acceded to the hefty fine. (Rick Velotta has the salacious details.) The company also struck a posture of high dudgeon, stating, “The intolerable activities discovered by investigators are obviously completely contrary to the type of luxury resort our company strives to run.”

Judging by the frequency and freedom with which Continue reading →

Posted in Downtown, Economy, Foxwoods, Internet gambling, Massachusetts, MGM Mirage, Problem gambling, Regulation, Station Casinos, The Strip, Trump Entertainment Resorts | Comments Off on Nose candy at Mandalay Bay; Remembering Gaughan

The industry speaks, Part Two

Posted on March 13, 2014 by David McKee

Hollywood-casino-front-croppedBoth Penn National Gaming and Pinnacle Entertainment have weighed in at the J.P. Morgan Gaming, Lodging, Restaurant & Leisure Management Access Forum. Penn engaged in a three-bucket division of its casinos. “The first bucket comprises properties in markets where there has been no new competition, which are trending with the general [growth gaming revenue of the market, which is well understood to be soft of late,” wrote analyst Joseph Greff. “At these properties, the focus remains on controlling costs and maintaining margins. The second bucket comprises properties still working through cannibalization (Lawrenceburg, Columbus, and Charles Town), while the third comprises properties for which it expects growth (Toledo, and the recently renovated Hollywood St. Louis).”

Despite its difficulties in Ohio, Penn continues to push forward with two racinos, demonstrating almost masochistic Continue reading →

Posted in Ameristar, Indiana, Louisiana, Marketing, Massachusetts, MGM Mirage, Missouri, Ohio, Penn National, Pinnacle Entertainment, Racinos, Tilman Fertitta, Wall Street, West Virginia | Comments Off on The industry speaks, Part Two

Optimism around the industry

Posted on March 13, 2014 by David McKee

wynn_resorts_logoLas Vegas‘ premier casino companies have been showing their wares at the  J.P. Morgan Gaming, Lodging, Restaurant & Leisure Management Access Forum. Among the pilgrims was Wynn Resorts CFO Matt Maddox, who reported that Wynncore is increasing revenue per available room in the 8%-9% range and has an optimal amount of conventioneers (20%) in its current guest mix. Wynn believes it can extract $800 million to $1 billion (Really?) a year from the Boston market, and thinks ROI will be strong despite the 25% tax rate. It also hopes to steer its lucrative international players — two thirds of the customer base — to Boston.

In Macao, Wynn will be reinvesting in Wynncore Macau, even as Wynn Palace moves forward, so that the two properties can be competitive with each other. The company sees no problems getting the construction labor it needs. It’s bullish on Japan, predicting casino legalization in May or June.

Representatives of Las Vegas Sands said their company would have Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Boyd Gaming, International, Internet gambling, Japan, Louisiana, Macau, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Sheldon Adelson, Steve Wynn, The Strip, Tilman Fertitta, Wall Street | Comments Off on Optimism around the industry

Adelson: Sore winner; Good news from Atlantic City

Posted on March 12, 2014 by David McKee

sandsmacaoMacao’s 2013 casino haul of $45 billion seems pretty mind-boggling on its own merits. That number could be $115 billion by 2018. Much of that growth will be driven by post-2015 projects of Melco Crown Entertainment and Galaxy Entertainment Group. The latter has land sufficient to build at least two Cotai Strip megaresorts. Melco also has new product in the pipeline. But Las Vegas Sands, when it finishes Parisian, will be out of land.

Shelly AdelsonReuters caught Sands CEO Sheldon Adelson in a crabby mood. “I was the visionary. I filled in the swamp and the bay, and was the first company to build there. There is not enough land left anywhere in Cotai to catch up to the number of hotel rooms that [Sands China] has. Galaxy doesn’t have enough land to even equal our Sands Cotai Central, which has 6,000 rooms,” Adelson fumed via e-mail. (So he does use computers, after all?)

At least Adelson can take comfort in knowing that Sands China’s 2013 revenues outgrossed Continue reading →

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Itchy trigger fingers in Massachusetts; Boyd besieged

Posted on March 12, 2014 by David McKee

CrosbyAfter moving with extreme deliberation on terrestrial casinos, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission suddenly has a fire under its butt to do something about Internet gambling. “The time is now … We can’t wait any longer, even though we’re still in the middle of [casino] licensing,” said MGC Chairman Stephen Crosby. Somewhat nonsensically, Crosby coupled those remarks with the admonition that “it’s only appropriate that [casino operators] be at the table when we figure out what do with Internet gaming.’’

At the pace with which the MGC is choosing resort-casino operators that could be a very long time. ‘‘We don’t want to kill the goose that laid the golden egg on the state lottery and the new goose that is hopefully Continue reading →

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Jackie Gaughan, 1920-2014

Posted on March 12, 2014 by David McKee

The humility with which Jackie Gaughan did business would be un-thought-of in today’s elcortez-piccasino world. He’d come to work through the front door and his “office” was a hotel room adapted for the purpose. At various times, Jackie owned all or part of at least 12 casinos, and was an active and visible presence at every one, every day. His philanthropy and civic spirit were comparably widespread. Not only did he preside over the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority, he was also on the board of review for Eagle Scouts. In 2002, he launched the Boys & Girls Clubs of Las Vegas. His helpfulness also manifested itself in smaller ways:  Gaughan was also known for keeping Continue reading →

Posted in Downtown, history, Regulation, Steve Wynn, The Strip | 2 Comments

Caesars disappoints Wall Street

Posted on March 12, 2014 by David McKee

caesars-palaceCaesars Entertainment posted a staggering, $1.76 billion loss (-$12.83/share), as some analysts fret that the recent fire sale of four casinos to Caesars Growth Partners may starve parent company Caesars Entertainment Operating Co. of cash flow. Meanwhile, Big Caesars has to decide whether to take the $2.2 billion it was paid by Little Caesars (Caesars Growth Properties) and reduce debt or try to grow the company faster than the bill collectors can keep pace. “This transaction is clearly negative from a leverage perspective … due to the loss of [cash flow] from the sale of the three assets,” said one respected analyst.

If you’re a bondholder in Caesars, prepare to take a bath. “The company is positioning it so that there’s really not a lot of options for the bondholders, and therefore the only way out is to do a distressed-debt exchange. They’re taking some of these assets and moving them to high ground, Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Harrah's, Louisiana, Missouri, Revel, Wall Street | 4 Comments

Missouri, Indiana take their lumps

Posted on March 11, 2014 by David McKee

Bad weather is being blamed for dismal attendance figures at St. Louis-area casinos. Those on the Missouri side were down 11%, while Casino Queen in East St. Louis and Alton Isle Cape GirardeauBelle were off 17% at the turnstile. Statewide, revenue was down 7%, with the St. Louis market much more adversely affected than Kansas City. In the former, Pinnacle Entertainment‘s Lumiere Place slipped 12% while its River City fell only 2%. Pinnacle’s St. Charles casino was down 8% but Penn National Gaming‘s nearby Hollywood St. Louis dropped 13%, good enough for the #1  and #2 top-grossing spots in the Show-Me State, respectively. Nobody’s fall was as dramatic as that of Isle of Capri Casinos‘ Cape Girardeau property, down 27% and ruining Isle’s month. The company’s other results were a mixture of small declines and a 2% uptick in Boonville.

Pinnacle’s Ameristar Kansas City (-4%) topped that market. Harrah’s North Kansas City (-3%) grossed Continue reading →

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Rocky Mountain high roller; Playing spoiler in Boston

Posted on March 11, 2014 by David McKee

8-ColoradoCoil42-single-BGv1“Recreational horse racing to me is more appealing than recreational pot.” So says one of the backers of expanded gambling in Colorado, state Rep. Don Coram (R). “We’re opposed because the way the initiative is written it gives the owner of Arapahoe Park a five-year monopoly on Front Range gaming in Colorado,” responds Colorado Gaming Association Executive Director Lois Rice. A ballot initiative would call for a minimum of 2,500 slots per racino. (Colorado’s biggest casino has 1,500.) The state has banked $1.3 billion in gaming taxes over the last 20 years, although Colorado was one of the first states to suffer from saturation.

Twin RIverThe ballot initiative is a creature of Twin River Worldwide Holdings Inc., owner of the eponymous Rhode Island casino. Under it and another initiative, racino status would eventually be extended to two other tracks yet to be built. “Would they be in favor of expansion of gaming at a facility that already has wagering? That’s a question we thought there is value in putting to the Colorado voters,” asks Twin River’s Patti Doyle. In return, the state and locality would receive Continue reading →

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Culinary: Two down, 14 to go; Quiet crisis at Sands

Posted on March 11, 2014 by David McKee

RivieraCulinary Union-represented workers at the Riviera and at Treasure Island have cause for celebration, being the beneficiaries of new, five-year collective bargaining agreements.  Culinary Secretary-Treasurer Geoconda Arguello-Kline took the extra step of hailing the Riviera deal as “mutually beneficial” to the parties involved. Meanwhile talks continue to hang fire at 14 other properties, from the rarefied (Golden Nugget) to the pits (Las Vegas Club). The Culinary continues to gnash its teeth over the Affordable Care Act, which prevents it from participating both in federal subsidies and employer-paid health plans. The Culinary’s is a Taft-Hartley plan, one in which multiple employers pay benefits. Such pools are disqualified from participating in the ACA because Continue reading →

Posted in Charity, Culinary Union, Delaware, Macau, Massachusetts, Mohegan Sun, Ohio, Phil Ruffin, Racinos, Regulation, Riviera, Sheldon Adelson, Taxes, The Strip | Comments Off on Culinary: Two down, 14 to go; Quiet crisis at Sands

Boyd under siege? Tight (slots) on the East Coast

Posted on March 11, 2014 by David McKee

boyd-gaming-200Yesterday, Elliott Management announced that it owns 5% of Boyd Gaming. Shares of the company, which had closed just under $12, opened at $14. But is this a vote of confidence in Boyd? According to Seeking Alpha, “Elliott has a long track record of mounting activist campaigns in which it calls for a company to make big changes and/or put itself up for sale.” And there was Boyd, just last week, talking about expansion into Japan. Now the heavily leveraged company may have to fight off Elliott instead.

Boyd’s online gambling revenues at Borgata (and those of rival Atlantic City casinos) should see an uptick this month. The State of New Jersey has “eased the parameters” of geolocation along the state line, thinning the buffer. Said the Division of Gaming Enforcement‘s Kerry Langan, “We have worked with the geolocation vendors and casinos to enhance the technology to make it more accurate and reliable, and to reduce false negatives.” And if a few non-Garden State players slip through the ‘Net … ? There seems to be tacit agreement not to lose sleep over that.

Remember those ‘2341’ keys that the Peppermill casino in Reno used to spy on Continue reading →

Posted in Atlantic City, Boyd Gaming, Columbia Sussex, Florida, Internet gambling, Lake Tahoe, Laughlin, Neil Bluhm, New York, Pennsylvania, Pinnacle Entertainment, Regulation, Reno, Technology, Tourism, Tropicana Entertainment, Wall Street, West Virginia | Comments Off on Boyd under siege? Tight (slots) on the East Coast

Quote of the Day

Posted on March 11, 2014 by David McKee

palms-pic“Whoever determined that 12 noon was the perfect check-in, check-out time was thinking of the housekeeping shift, not the guest.” — Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration professor of marketing Chekitan Dev, on the Palms‘ new, round-the-clock checkout policy. It’ll be easier on guests — if harder on those maid who get moved to evening shifts.

Posted in Dan Lee, Palms, The Strip | 1 Comment

Realism in Iowa, depression in Illinois, paradox in Ohio

Posted on March 7, 2014 by David McKee

“The problem is Iowa is not a free-market system It’s set up to encourage big-dollar investments, so the cannibalization issue is one we have to take into consideration.” — Iowa Racing & Gaming Commission Chairman Jeff Lamberti

Iowa sealThere you have it. When the size of an industry is decreed by the state, cannibalization is an issue that must be weighed, not shrugged off as economic Darwinism. Not one but two consulting firms — Marquette Advisors and Union Gaming — told the IRGC that there’s no more room in Iowa for new casinos. “We do not believe there are any underserved counties in Iowa,” counseled Union Gaming while Marquette Advisors warned that a $150 Linn County casino project would siphon customers from as many as five surrounding markets. (A $40 million Jefferson casino by Wild Rose Entertainment is also being pitched to the IRGC.)

The next day, as though to reinforce the point, the IRGC released February revenues and they were Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, Boyd Gaming, Economy, Harrah's, Illinois, Iowa, Isle of Capri, MGM Mirage, Neil Bluhm, Ohio, Penn National, Pinnacle Entertainment, Regulation | Comments Off on Realism in Iowa, depression in Illinois, paradox in Ohio

Notes from Indian Country; Penn’s fast break

Posted on March 7, 2014 by David McKee

Native American casinos in Maine took a step toward realization when the lower house of the Legislature rescued pro-casino bills from seeming death in the Veterans & Legal Affairs Maine State FlagCommittee. The legislation “would allow the Passamaquoddy Tribe to build a casino in Washington County and the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians to operate one in Aroostook County.” There were valid points to be made on both sides of the debate. As state Rep. Madonna Soctomah, whose constituency includes the Passamaquoddy Tribe and has been advocating tribal gaming for two decades, argued, tribes have been held to a different standard than private-sector casino developers. But there was also truth in Rep. Louis Luchini‘s characterization of the legislation as “are a continuation of our state’s fragmented and disorganized approach to gaming policy.”

For perhaps the first time ever, Penn National Gaming and Churchill Downs (each of which owns a Maine casino) found themselvesin common cause, opposing the expansion of gambling to tribal lands. Replied Soctomah, “We only ask that we be given the same opportunity.”

parryIn related business, the House kept alive a bill to transform Scarborough Downs into a racino, pending local approval. “”If we continue to say ‘yes’ to jobs — but ‘not those jobs’ — we continue to show businesses around the country that we might like jobs, but not like theirs,” said Rep. Wayne Parry (right) of the pro-slots measure. Scarborough Downs President Sharon Terry characterized the bill as a life-or-death measure for the harness-racing track. It would sidestep the requirement of a statewide referendum — but would also conflict with existing law that requires 100 miles of separation between existing casinos. Scarborough voters have a decade-long history of voting down slots.

Continue reading →

Posted in California, Churchill Downs, Horseracing, Maine, Massachusetts, Penn National, Politics, Racinos, Tribal, Wisconsin | Comments Off on Notes from Indian Country; Penn’s fast break