Tribute to a bad man

Posted on January 12, 2021 by David McKee
Sheldon Adelson, 1933-2021

Sheldon Adelson‘s Horatio Alger success story came to an abrupt end today, when the Boston Globe broke the news of his death from lymphoma at age 87. Adelson had a good run in the industry, longer than most, and his career—despite a costly money-laundering scandal—was never tripped up the kind of ethical failings that brought contemporaries Steve Wynn and J. Terrence Lanni low. He outlasted all his major competitors on the Strip and successfully steered Las Vegas Sands through two recessions, among myriad other accomplishments. But his reign in Las Vegas as the doge of Venelazzo was not without taint, local, national and international. We’ll get to that in a minute.

Reactions to Adelson’s passing were quick to roll in. The American Gaming Association, with which he had been sometimes at odds, issued the following statement from President Bill Miller, which read in part, “I had the pleasure of knowing Mr. Adelson for more than 15 years, long before joining the American Gaming Association … It is his leadership and generosity that stand out the most to me. There’s no greater example of this than serving his community and prioritizing his employees’ well-being during the last year as our country and industry grappled with the global pandemic … may his memory be a blessing.”

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Posted in AGA, Alabama, Architecture, Conventions, Culinary Union, Donald Trump, Election, Florida, Galaxy Entertainment, Health, history, International, Internet gambling, Japan, Las Vegas Sands, LVCVA, Macau, Marijuana, Movies, New York, Pennsylvania, Politics, Sheldon Adelson, Singapore, Sociedade de Jogos de Macau, Sports betting, Stanley Ho, Steve Wynn, Taxes, Texas, The Strip, Tribal, Wall Street | 3 Comments

Quote of the Day

Posted on January 12, 2021 by David McKee

“The presidency is an act of faith. Nobody can do it.”—presidential historian and John F. Kennedy biographer Richard Reeves.

Posted in history | Comments Off on Quote of the Day

Sports betting impresses in Iowa; Harness racing resumes

Posted on January 11, 2021 by David McKee

Sports betting in Iowa crossed the $100 million threshold in handle last month and that was without some key players like BetMGM, which launched earlier this month. Wagers are expected to vault now that Gov. Kim Reynolds‘ stay on mobile registration has expired. Bookmakers captured $7.5 million on $105 million in bets in December. “What Iowa’s sports betting industry has achieved, becoming the seventh-largest market in the U.S., in spite of a significant handicap like in-person registration has been impressive,” said PlayUSA analyst Jessica Welman. 2020 handle reached $575 million despite Reynolds’ restriction and a depleted menu of collegiate and major-league sports. Online wagering is also expected to grow this year from 70.5% of the mix to something like Indiana’s 85%.

Iowa casinos had a relatively good December, down only 6% for a statewide gross of $121.5 million, driven mainly by a 22% revenue increase at the racinos. Ameristar Council Bluffs grossed $13 million, down 12%, Diamond Jo Dubuque slipped 17% to $5 million and Diamond Jo Worth gained 14% to end at $8 million. Isle Bettendorf grew 12% to $6 million while Isle Waterloo was flat at $7 million. Harrah’s Council Bluffs tumbled 32.5% to $4 million and Horseshoe Casino fell 20% to $13 million. The state’s top grosser was Prairie Meadows racino, plunging 25% to $14 million. The misfortunes of the big dogs were offset by success stories at small casinos that included a 54% moonshot at Rhythm City, closing the month at $10 million.

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Posted in Alabama, Boyd Gaming, Caesars Entertainment, Canada, China, Cordish Co., Health, Iowa, MGM Resorts International, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Penn National, Pennsylvania, Racinos, Sports betting, Tribal | 1 Comment

Quote of the Day

Posted on January 10, 2021 by David McKee

“The moment people don’t feel it is in their interest to act democratically, democracy is just lost. The Constitution cannot save it. It’s not going to leap out of its case in the National Archives and start attacking people.”—George Washington University professor Michael Miller, on authoritarianism in America.

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Half-a-loaf Cuomo; Ohio implosion

Posted on January 8, 2021 by David McKee
Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D); Copyright: Shutterstock

Cuomo giveth, Cuomo taketh away. After dropping hints of expansive sports betting in New York State, Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) unveiled a proposal that was considerably less than ‘george.’ There will be one ‘skin’ and it will be answerable to the state lottery. Only the four, struggling, upstate casinos will be eligible to participate and the tax rate may be as high as 50%. The only silver lining for the industry is that the winner of the license competition will be the only game in town, enabling them to spend little or nothing or promotion. Due to its extensive ties within the Empire State, DraftKings has to be considered the early favorite. The state’s three tribal casinos are on the outside looking in and that’s bound to be a source of contention. Explaining his parsimony, Cuomo said, “I’m not here to make the casinos a lot of money. I’m here to raise funds for the state,” to the tune of $500 million in tax receipts a year.

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Posted in Boyd Gaming, Caesars Entertainment, Churchill Downs, Dan Gilbert, Derek Stevens, Detroit, Downtown, Economy, Hard Rock International, MGM Resorts International, New York, Ohio, Penn National, Politics, Sports betting, The Rio, The Strip, Wall Street | 2 Comments

Twilight of the God

Posted on January 7, 2021 by David McKee

Sheldon Adelson hasn’t left the building at Las Vegas Sands but the exit door has opened. Moments ago the company announced that the 87-year-old plutocrat would be taking a leave of absence for treatment of lymphoma. Adelson has been battling the disease since March 2019. COO Rob Goldstein ascends to the post of acting chairman/CEO. Goldstein knows the industry like the back of his hand and Sands isn’t expected to miss a step. As JP Morgan analyst Joseph Greff puts it, “Mr. Goldstein, 65, has been at LVS for ~25 years in a number of executive positions and is universally respected–and liked–by investors, casino operator peers, employees and, importantly, the Adelson family, which owns a majority/controlling stake in LVS.” Yes, Sheldon, like his pal Donald Trump, values personal loyalty above all else (keeping then-President William Weidner on even after, according to Adelson’s sworn testimony, he breached his fiduciary duties). Goldstein also adds the duties of acting chairman/CEO of Sands China to his portfolio, meaning his desk will be very full for some time to come. We wish Adelson a speedy recovery, as do the many politicians whose careers depend on his largesse.

Posted in Current, Las Vegas Sands, Sheldon Adelson | 1 Comment

Maryland craters; MGM ‘snow’ job; Mob Museum in your ear

Posted on January 6, 2021 by David McKee

It’s pretty clear that the casino industry is entering its second recession in 10 months and too soon to know if the ‘skinny’ stimulus will bring a January boost. One of the most reliable markets in the U.S., Maryland plunged 20% last month. The gross was $119.5 million. JP Morgan analyst Joseph Greff pins the declivity upon both an upsurge in Covid-19 cases and consequent restrictions in casino capacity (25% at the big three). “We expect a similar trend to play out in other regions, which points to a retrenchment,” Greff added. Market share was dominated by MGM National Harbor (41%) and Maryland Live (above, 36%). MGM had a 28% falloff in high-priority table revenue and shed 18% at the slots, for a total haul of $58.5 million.

Maryland Live slipped 17% to $43 million while Horseshoe Baltimore posted an anemic $13 million, a 32% plummet. Small wonder Penn National Gaming recently re-acquired Hollywood Perryville. It was actually up 8.5% to $6.5 million. Ocean Downs was down 10% to $5 million and Rocky Gap Casino tumbled 16% to $3.5 million. Final West Virginia tallies aren’t yet available but the week-to-week tracking of revenue indicates that their results will make Maryland casinos look flush.

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Posted in Caesars Entertainment, China, Churchill Downs, Cordish Co., Economy, Golden Gaming, history, Japan, Maryland, MGM Resorts International, Oscar Goodman, Pansy Ho, Penn National, Sociedade de Jogos de Macau, The Mob, Wall Street, West Virginia | Comments Off on Maryland craters; MGM ‘snow’ job; Mob Museum in your ear

Cuomo all-in on New York sports betting; Playoff fever begins

Posted on January 6, 2021 by David McKee

There’s nothing like a budgetary dose of Covid-19 to bring some people to reality. Case in point, New York State Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D). He has been against mobile sports betting for years—much to the state’s detriment—but will embrace it in next week’s State of the State address. This is big, especially for the gaming industry, but we’ll get to that momentarily. As the governor put it, “New York has the potential to be the largest sports wagering market in the United States, and by legalizing online sports betting we aim to keep millions of dollars in tax revenue here at home, which will only strengthen our ability to rebuild from the COVID-19 crisis.” (We think California will be a bigger market still but the voters have yet to speak on the issue.)

How will Cuomo finesse his previous insistence that mobile sports betting was unconstitutional? He’s dropped a hint that it’s merely up to the Lege, while also flirting with the idea of marijuana legalization. The tax haul from sports betting might be no more than $6 million a month but that’d be $72 million more than Cuomo has now. The Empire State would also be able to claw back 20% of New Jersey‘s sports-betting revenue, provided that the rules are sufficiently attractive to players. (None of this in-person registration crap, guv.) While Cuomo has dropped his demand for a constitutional amendment, he does expect online providers to team with brick-and-mortar casinos, throwing a lifeline to struggling upstate operators.

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Posted in Caesars Entertainment, California, Churchill Downs, Donald Trump, DraftKings, Economy, FanDuel, history, Las Vegas Raiders, Marijuana, Marketing, MGM Resorts International, New Jersey, New York, Rush Street Gaming, Sports, Sports betting, Taxes, Tribal, Wall Street | 2 Comments

Adelson, Packer canoodle & other news

Posted on January 5, 2021 by David McKee

While America burns, Sheldon Adelson is fiddling in the French Caribbean, aboard his mega-luxury yacht. The vessel was moored next to that of James Packer, who welcomed Adelson as guest for his lavish New Year’s Eve celebration. This meeting of the moguls only served to further fuel speculation that Sheldon is cutting a deal with Crown Resorts to buy Venelazzo. If so, it would be the first astute business move Packer has made in the United States, where his previous atttempts to crack the market—especially in Las Vegas—were a shambles, placing bets on every three-legged horse in sight. Of course, Packer would have to get Nevada regulators to overlook that little matter of being unable to get a Sydney casino license …

Remember how casinos in Japan were supposed to be open in time for the 2020 Olympic Games? And how the games were postponed until this year? And how there is still no opening date for the casinos, if ever? Well, the Olympiad is already $7.2 billion over budget and hasn’t been held yet. This exceeds the record, $6 billion overage of the 2012 London games, proving that Olympic incompetence is nothing new. (By percentage, the worst excess was 1992 Barcelona‘s 266% overrun.) Not only is the Japanese government quibbling with the International Olympic Committee over who should pick up the $2 billion of the tab related to Coronavirus postponement, the Nipponese public is getting restive: 34% of survey respondents favor outright cancellation, while another 36.5% want additional delay. 75% think Coronavirus is not going to be tamed anytime in the immediate future. The only recent Olympiad to come in remotely close to budget was Athens in 2004, which goes to show you can’t beat the ancestral home of the games.

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Posted in Arizona, China, Crown Resorts, Detroit, Dining, Economy, Hawaii, Health, International, Internet gambling, Iowa, James Packer, Japan, Las Vegas Sands, Law enforcement, Macau, MGM Resorts International, Michigan, Penn National, Pennsylvania, Politics, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, South Dakota, Taxes, Tribal, Virginia | Comments Off on Adelson, Packer canoodle & other news

Quote of the Day

Posted on January 5, 2021 by David McKee

“This is not déja vu. This is something far worse than occurred in Watergate. We have a criminal president of the United States in Donald Trump and a subversive president of the United States at the same time in this one person, subverting the very basis of our democracy and willing to act criminally in that subversion … In any other presidency, this tape would be evidence enough to result in the impeachment of the president of the United States.”—former Washington Post reporter Carl Bernstein, who knows from Watergate.

Posted in Current, Donald Trump, Election | 1 Comment

This just in …

Posted on January 4, 2021 by David McKee

MGM Resorts International is all over the news today. It just made a play for BetMGM partner Entain. It’s offering a stock swap of six-tenths of a share of MGM for every share of Entain, a transaction that Credit Suisse analyst Ben Chaiken values at $11 billion. “Entain has informed MGM that it thinks the offer significantly undervalues the company and future growth,” Chaiken continues. He called the increased commitment by MGM to online sports betting and to i-gaming (a party to which MGM was late) a “clear positive” but adds that the proposed deal is “not particularly needle moving to MGM as part of the overall conglomerate. It sounds like Entain has asked MGM to come back to them with more robust rationale for the business combination, and presumably a higher offer.”

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Posted in Caesars Entertainment, Internet gambling, Macau, MGM Resorts International, Sports betting, The Strip, Wall Street, William Hill | Comments Off on This just in …

Slow news day

Posted on January 4, 2021 by David McKee

It’s nice to see that the Las Vegas Golden Knights are set to return to the ice … but with Covid-19 positivity rates in Nevada having just passed 21%, is this any time for companies like MGM Resorts International to be touting—or even contemplating—pool season? For that matter, why has Gov. Steve Sisolak (D) seemingly gone into hiding during this dumpster fire?

In other sports news, the Las Vegas Raiders were dealt the ultimate diss by Fox Sports, which didn’t even bother to post score updates on its ticker of the Silver and Black’s exceedingly narrow but meaningless win over the Denver Broncos, which enabled the Raiders to end the season at 8-8, salvaging pride but little else.

Posted in Entertainment, Health, Las Vegas Raiders, MGM Resorts International, Nevada, Sports, TV | 1 Comment

Quote of the Day

Posted on January 3, 2021 by David McKee

“It is difficult to conceive of a more anti-democratic and anti-conservative act than a federal intervention to overturn the results of state-certified elections and disenfranchise millions of Americans. The fact that this effort will fail does not mean it will not do significant damage to American democracy.”—former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan.

Posted in Current | 2 Comments

Quote of the Day

Posted on January 2, 2021 by David McKee

“In these United States, when someone loses an election according to the constitutional processes, he is obligated to accept the loss. Otherwise, we live in lawless anarchy. Rejecting anarchy, and accepting the dictates of the Constitution, is no less than what [Sen. Ben Sasse (R)] says: It is ‘what self-government requires.'”—from a Washington Examiner editorial.

Posted in Current | 2 Comments

Vegas scraping bottom; Caesars fined big-time

Posted on December 30, 2020 by David McKee

Rising numbers of Covid-19 cases “pressured visitation” to Las Vegas last month and a total absence of conventions didn’t help either, according to JP Morgan analyst Joseph Greff. Tourism was down 57%, which drove a devastating 70% decline in revenue per available room ($39/room). Sin City drew 1.5 million visitors, per the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority, with occupancy running at a dire 39%, down 51%. Average daily rates fell 31% to $100/night. Even a 5% reduction in room inventory didn’t help. Occupancy midweek was 32.5% and 55.5% on weekends, numbers that are diluted by the greater amount of rooms that is in play on weekends. Judging by MGM Resorts International‘s total closure of The Mirage, December promises to be even worse, with casinos restricted to 25% of capacity. While auto traffic on all major highways was ever so slightly higher than last year, all-important drive-in traffic from California was down 5%. With Covid-19 vaccines limping onto the market (see “Quote of the Day”), no sign in the curbing of the disease, a mutant Coronavirus strain detected in Colorado and the severe unlikelihood of economic recovery in 1Q21, it’s no wonder that some Vegas pundits are predicting massive retrenchment in the coming year.

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Posted in Caesars Entertainment, California, Colorado, Economy, Health, International, LVCVA, MGM Resorts International, Money laundering, The Strip, Tourism, Wall Street, William Hill | 2 Comments

Quote of the Day

Posted on December 30, 2020 by David McKee

“Speed is what matters. This should be D-Day right now. But what’s happening nationally is it’s just being done in a bureaucratic manner and it’s not being done with the urgency you’d do in a civil defense or war-time exercise.”—Health Business Group President David Williams on slower-than-promised rollout of Covid-19 vaccines.

Posted in Health | 1 Comment

Circa debut boosts Downtown; Lots of moving, shaking predicted for ’21

Posted on December 29, 2020 by David McKee

Although casinos across the nation have been swooning in November, results in Nevada—which we feared would take it worse than average—were in line with national trends, a victory of sorts. Statewide, gaming win fell 18% and the Las Vegas Strip, which has been the epicenter of the problem, tumbled 32% but frankly we expected a lot worse. Locals came out to play, too, and win from them was up 6%. Since October ended on a Saturday (a non-reporting day), a weekend’s worth of previous-month revenue helped fatten the November results, offsetting one less weekend last month. December is not likely to be such a positive story, casino-capacity restrictions having been tightened to 25% on Nov. 24.

As far as Strip casinos were concerned, baccarat continued to be a black hole, with players wagering less (-25%) and winning more, are revenues toppled 45%. Other table games fell 32% on 35% less wagering. Strip slots slid 29% (to $197 million) on 33.5% less coin-in. Even tighter holds didn’t help. Overall, Strip casinos grossed $350 million. Downtown the story has to be Circa, whose first full month coincided with a 2% increase in gaming revenues ($53 million), Derek Stevens‘ rising tide lifting all boats. North Las Vegas was off 2% ($19 million) but the Boulder Strip was boffo, up 18% to $68.5 million, while the balance of Clark County was flat at $105 million. Laughlin missed the boat, flopping 19% to $33 million. Mesquite was off 8% to $11 million while Wendover slipped 17% to $15.5 million.

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Posted in Boulder Strip, Boyd Gaming, Caesars Entertainment, Cirque du Soleil, Derek Stevens, Dotty's, Downtown, Economy, Failsinos, Fontainebleau, GLPI, Internet gambling, Lake Tahoe, Las Vegas Sands, Laughlin, Mesquite, MGM Resorts International, Nevada, North Las Vegas, Palms, Planet Hollywood, Regulation, Reno, Resorts World LV, Seminole Tribe, Sheldon Adelson, Sports, Sports betting, Station Casinos, The Rio, The Strip, Virgin Hotels, Wendover, William Hill | 2 Comments

Cosmo quits buffet biz (for now); NFL going out with a bang

Posted on December 29, 2020 by David McKee

South Point will have to go it alone in the Strip buffet department now that The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas has shut down Wicked Spoon “temporarily.” Wicked Spoon had a good, seven-month run during the pandemic but the language used by the Cosmo was rather ominous: “Effective January 10, Wicked Spoon will temporarily cease operations. We are hopeful that business levels will improve into the new year, from which operations will continue to be reevaluated.” Whose “business levels” are we talking about? It is impossible to evaluate the “levels” of a business that is shuttered, so what we’re really talking about is the overall performance of the Cosmo itself, the Covid capital of the Las Vegas Strip. It’s possible customers didn’t cotton to the new-look Wicked Spoon, whose regimen was “mandatory reservations, reduced seating, and dishes served by staff.”

It’s also possible that the Cosmo is suffering from the downturn in Vegas business, of which the Las Vegas Strip is a particular casualty. Either way, the whole buffet concept is on life support, at least until Covid-19 is sufficiently behind us that collective amnesia takes hold … and given slow vaccine rollouts, that’s not likely to happen soon.

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Posted in Cosmopolitan, Dining, Donald Trump, DraftKings, FanDuel, Health, MGM Resorts International, Rush Street Gaming, Sports, Sports betting, Tourism, Transportation, William Hill | 1 Comment

Quote of the Day

Posted on December 29, 2020 by David McKee

“We see in gaming where some sports betting company stocks are selling at 20 and 30 times future sales, no less earnings. And that is sales three and four and five years down the road. If we should have learned anything by the unpredictable events of 2020 it is that we cannot, with assurance or specificity, forecast three and five years out.”—stock analyst Frank Fantini, sounding a note of caution amidst a generally bullish forecast for the new year.

Posted in Economy, Wall Street | 1 Comment

Green Christmas; Raiders vindicate oddsmakers, enrage fans

Posted on December 28, 2020 by David McKee

In Las Vegas over Christmas with nothing to do? Try playing the Megabucks slot machines at Suncoast. That’s what “Kevin” (no last name given) did on Christmas Eve and soon found himself $15,491,103 richer—at least until the IRS gets into the act. As Kevin only put $40 into the International Game Technology machine, he got a fantastic return on investment. Since Megabucks is a revenue-sharing machine, Boyd Gaming isn’t on the hook for the entire jackpot … and to think that casinos actually petitioned the Nevada Lege in 1999 to outlaw revenue-sharing slots (an unfair restraint of trade, it was determined). Kevin, a snowbird from Alaska, told Boyd that he intends to “pay it forward” with his newfound wealth and support his business. He sounds like a good man. Nevada has not seen such a large jackpot since 2012, although it’s not a patch on the $34.9 million won at the Desert Inn in 2000 or the $39.7 million achieved at low-roller joint Excalibur in 2003.

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Posted in Boyd Gaming, Hawaii, history, IGT, Las Vegas Raiders, Politics, Regulation, Sports, Sports betting, Tourism | 1 Comment