February numbers are in for Hollywood Casino at Kansas Speedway and it lifted the entire K.C. market 24%, grossing $15 million in 26 days. Once the Hollywood effect is sifted out of monthly revenues, all other casinos were down only a small fraction of a percentage point. In other words, they rode out the first month of major new competition far better than anyone dared expect. Ironically, the biggest whammy fell on Penn National Gaming‘s other area property, Argosy Riverside, down 8%. However, Argosy still beat Deutsche Bank‘s expectations for February. So did Hollywood, which grossed $249/day per slot, 25% above projections.
Hollywood Speedway (for want of less cumbersome nomenclature) represented 43% of all Kansas casino revenues for the month. It was slightly outgrossed by the temporary facility at Kansas Star ($16 million, left), while way out in Fort Dodge, an 8% revenue increase was seen at Boot Hill Casino & Resort, which pulled in $4 million. Eastward, in Kansas City, Missouri, Penn’s newcomer damn near nipped Harrah’s North Kansas City (+3%) and was significantly outgrossed only by Ameristar Kansas City ($19 million, -3%). The small operators that one would expect to be most adversely affected, Isle of Capri Kansas City (+10%) and tiny St. Jo Frontier (+12%), reported the biggest gains on anyone. So it’s basically a happy day for everyone in the market but, obviously, for Penn more than anybody.
Meanwhile, just to the north, a push for casino gambling in Nebraska quickly ran out of steam. The various bills were not without their absurd Continue reading
“It’s got some casinos but it’s pretty dirty … It was what it was.” — Laughlin, as described by a spectator at Saturday’s Texas Rangers/Chicago Cubs game at Cashman Field. (The Rangers vaporized the Cub bullpen, which surrendered 11 runs in six innings.)
Wall Street‘s appetite for risk knows no bounds. True, year-end numbers from MGM Resorts International contain cause for confidence, including 8% higher domestic gambling revenue and 10% improved room revenues. However, MGM’s still sitting atop a $13.5 billion powder keg of long-term debt. So you have to admire MGM’s ability to peddle $1 billion in unsecured debt — look Ma, no collateral! — to Wall Street at 7.75% interest. The transaction enables MGM to push off a day of debt reckoning for another two years, 
However, it’s amazing how quickly investors on the Street forgot that some of them were caught out during CityCenter‘s travails, having lent billions of unsecured dollars and coming within hours of bankruptcy, when Dubai World decided to play handball with MGM’s ass. Besides, it’s not like MGM doesn’t have a handsome asset portfolio it could pledge against this latest float. In fact, Wall Street’s gluttony for punishment is so intense that MGM was able to increase the size of the bond offering by $250 million.
Bunny blues. Given 
Having seen the handwriting on the wall, Dan Lee has sold his Creative Casinos of Louisiana to regional rival Ameristar Casinos for a measly $32.5 million. Bankers were having difficulty computing Lee + Lake Charles = Mojito Pointe. Financing prospects look distinctly better now that Ameristar has taken charge of the project — and Wall Street analysts agree that Pinnacle Entertainment has serious cause to worry about the threat to L’Auberge du Lac that this poses (“a 25% haircut,” one called it). It’s also a humiliating defeat for Lee, who slinks away from the casino industry for the second time in as many years, having failed to raise the capital for his revenge on Pinnacle.
While Caesars Entertainment struggles to rid itself of dilapidated The Rio, it’s attracted another problem that will diminish its “curb appeal.” 
After months of confidentiality agreements and other top-hush nonsense, it’s official: Fitzgeralds Casino Hotel in downtown Las Vegas will become the D. Now, I can’t think that — let alone type it — without recalling the Family Guy episode in which Stewie Griffin opens an ill-fated nightclub called pLACE. (“What happened?” “Andy Dick happened.”) 
“Whether it’s Paris Hilton or Kim Kardashian or whoever, stupidity is certainly celebrated. Being a fucking idiot is a valuable commodity in this culture because you’re rewarded significantly.” — Jon Hamm, star of Mad Men (returns March 25!) on the subject of “reality” TV. Too bad he didn’t include Donald Trump in that pantheon of remunerative idiocy.
Now I know you guys have a high level of interest in — and affection for — the Riviera. How about if I told you that I’ll be interviewing Riv President Andy Choy tomorrow morning? And that he’s agreed to answer your questions? No preconditions: So the initiative is yours. Send me some good questions and I’ll ask ’em on your behalf.
Earlier today, we witnessed the strange spectacle of a capitalist decrying the effect of market forces upon his business. It’s an indirect reminder that casinos are that rare issue which brings together the old maids of the far left and the far right, decrying the terrifying scourge of gambling, like a bunch of latter-day Carrie Nations. An example of the latter would be Jonathan S. Tobin, who wrings his hands, saying, “it ill behooves conservatives or libertarians to be encouraging an industry whose main purpose has always been to encourage the growth of government.” Yes, that’s what Steve Wynn thinks every waking morning of his life. “What, oh what, can I do today to encourage the growth of government?” From the left comes Daniel Denvir, who only now realizes that “casino capitalism” is more than a metaphor. He’s a bit late to the party (by at least a decade) but more than makes up for it w
That shriek of dismay you hear from the direction of Atlantic City is the screech of hotelier Curtis Bashaw (left). What is the cause of his umbrage? The discovery that a hotel room in A.C. can be had for as little as — brace yourselves — $19. Get over it, Curtis. Out here, I can book a room at Circus Circus for $22/night, so I find it difficult to be appalled. Besides, isn’t this the free market at work? Would you prefer price controls? Bashaw has chosen to “go dark” midweek, which ought to save him a bundle on wages and especially on benefits. As you’ve probably guessed already, the lowballer in question is good old ACH. In order to get the $19 room, 
“Research suggests that the more [Mitt] Romney tries to not talk about his wealth, the more likely he is to do just that. The human mind is perversely drawn to fixate upon the subjects we most want to avoid, especially when under stress.” — Liz Goodwin, 
There are few real characters in the casino industry anymore. Dennis Gomes (1944-2012) was one of them. His recent death put a premature “full stop” on one of the most colorful and wide-ranging careers gaming has seen. After all, how many people can claim to have been a casino regulator in both New Jersey and Nevada, or to have run 14 casinos from Las Vegas to Atlantic City, plus a few in “flyover country.” The Philadelphia Inquirer offers a fitting appraisal of Gomes’ life, a veritable ‘Who’s Who’ of gambling, with supporting characters who range from Lefty Rosenthal to Donald Trump, with some more-reputable personages in the mix. “[Gomes] fully grasped that casinos are, at least theoretically, all about fun and excitement and creating a fantasy world for customers. He got it that the “Wow!” factor was as important as clean towels and honest games.”
Whether it was risqué or politically incorrect, Gomes was willing to try anything to promote his casinos: Barack Obama and Fidel Castro impersonators, a gay disco and, most famously, 
Baccarat win on the Las Vegas Strip began the year heavy ($194 million) and dramatic, up 199% from 2011. The whales were back in force, dropping 163% more than the previous January, putting $1.6 billion in play. An early Chinese New Year helped, as daily baccarat drop averaged $50 million, compared to $30 million the year prior. The volume of other table-game play rose 11%, with players losing 8% more to the casinos this year. Slightly tighter slot hold was just barely enough, though, to offset less coin-in, leaving slot revenues flat from 2011. All this revenue growth was achieved with only a 1% increase in visitation from last year.
In terms of quantity, quality and proximity, the Los Angeles Times is the closest thing Las Vegas has to a major metropolitan daily. (Hell, the Sacramento Bee puts the Las Vegas Review-Journal to shame.) Indeed, the LAT treats Sin City as a distant, less-virtuous suburb of the City of Angels. A recent spate of stories jibes with the current trend of cautious optimism in the Vegas casino industry. Admittedly, LAT coverage focuses on our bargain-based appeal, but the perception of affordability is a reliable building block for tourism in Southern Nevada. For instance, the deservedly beloved El Cortez gets a lot of LAT affection, especially for its Cabana Suites, the location of Sharon Stone‘s death scene in Casino. Admittedly, if the rooms are “tiny” in the building’s newish, 64-unit configuration, I’d can only imagine how cramped they were when it was a 120-room motel. However, correspondent Christopher Smith 
Having already taken charge of the hotel operations of the JW Marriott Las Vegas Resort & Spa (for historical purposes, best known as The Resort at Summerlin) last summer, Michael Gaughan Jr. 
Las Vegas‘ 
Not even a rocky start in Atlantic City has cooled the ardor of Landry’s Restaurant CEO Tilman Fertitta for new casino acquisitions. Earlier today Landry’s announced that it had bought Isle Casino Hotel, putting Fertitta into the Biloxi market. The colorful executive is promising a large-scale, year-long reinvention of the property (probably well overdue), which will include adding many of the F&B brands already familiar from his Golden Nugget in downtown Las Vegas. While 
Faced with Landry’s aggressive offer (more, in strictly EBITDA-multiple terms, more than Boyd Gaming forked over in its $278 million purchase the nearby Imperial Palace), one can’t blame Isle CEO Virginia McDowell (right) for taking the money and running from Biloxi. While it seems counter-intuitive to bail on the Gulf Coast, Santarelli forecast that the sale would “be well received by investors” and that Biloxi was a “tough and highly competitive” place to do business … especially if you have a superannuated facility, I might add. Meanwhile, Isle GM Doug Shipley has been sent out to walk the casino floor and calm the workforce. If they’re apprehensive, it’s with good reason: Fertitta had a reputation for running a tight and unhappy ship during his early years in Downtown.