There’s still no timeline for Tropicana Las Vegas to reopen, certainly not by mid-July. That news comes as Penn National Gaming slashed 2,575 jobs over eight states. Evidently Penn doesn’t expect the current surge in business to last, as most of the job cuts will come in August, with more in September. Hollywood St. Louis, one of the company’s most lucrative casinos, is targeted for 455 sackings, while nearby River City eliminated 329 jobs. Hollywood Columbus and Hollywood Dayton will lose 300 positions. M Resort will get hit with 328 firings, Argosy Riverside in Kansas City with 289 and Kansas Speedway casino with 218.
At the corporate level, 233 positions will be eliminated. As bad as all that looks, it’s nothing compared to the austerity program underway at Boyd Gaming, which has warned of 60% workforce reductions at some of its casinos. (As many as 1,800 jobs at The Orleans could be impacted.) As for Penn, it said the layoffs “are the unfortunate result of COVID-19 related business circumstances that were sudden, dramatic, and beyond our control,” in a letter to the Nevada Department of Employment, Training & Rehabilitation. It continued, “These significant drags on our business will likely continue for the foreseeable future.”
16%, thanks in part to draconian cost-cutting measures. Eldorado stock, down 31% year to date, rose 6% on the news. Caesars nudged up 2%. The Caesars brand is doing better in the post-reopening environment, with revenue 2% and cash flow improved as much as 40%. How? Higher table minimums. Less marketing to low-margin customers. No buffets. No shows or nightclubs, either. “I think it’s going to be a long time before customers are willing to eat at buffets,” proclaimed Reeg, with CNBC adding, “Buffets are a moneypit for the operators. They are labor-intensive and wasteful.”
require reservations for admission, and non-guests will have to book daybeds and cabañas. Out: DJs. In: ambient music. (Except at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, home of poolside bottle service, too.) Not that this is deterring customers; 
(restricted) capacity bookings and attendance. Since this is Vegas Lite, one in which fewer rooms are available and win/slot/day reflects far fewer machines, it’s as yet unclear whether it’s a harbinger of a faster-than-expected recovery or an initial burst of business that was months in abeyance. Fitch Ratings 
and, yes, you can eat ’til you burst (or until your two hours are up). But you’ll be 
off to promote distancing. About 30% of people were wearing masks, MGM required masks in the elevators if you were traveling with others not in your party. Most of the venues were closed- the D only had the hot dogs and the coffee stand open, Caesars the food court and some restaurants, and the same with MGM. Never saw so little traffic on the strip! Very few pedestrian traffic as well. If you wanted a pic at the LV sign there wasn’t a line. Seems as if MGM properties were not prepared for 
($18 million) and Borgata ($17 million). That’s $181 million less than Atlantic City would have generated in an average May but it’s progress of a sort. “Land-based gambling revenue almost certainly won’t return in June, and it will take some time to recover while Atlantic City casinos presumably navigate reduced capacity and relatively weak tourism demand,” PlayNJ.com analyst Eric Ramsey said. “Because of that, online casinos will continue to be relied upon to bridge the revenue gap. Even if online revenue can’t fully replace what has been lost from the shutdown, the overall gaming industry would be in much worse shape without it.”
“Cuomo missed the boat, deriding New Jersey sports betting revenue by saying it amounted to a ’rounding error’ in his state budget. That rounding error—a few hundred million dollars in the treasury every year—could fund a lot of good programs in New York.”—former New Jersey state senator Raymond Lesniak on New York State Gov. Andrew Cuomo‘s opposition to sports betting.
removed upon request and offer the excuse of helping “offset restrictions on our business resulting from the COVID-19 crisis.” Hey, a lot of Americans’ livelihood was restricted by the ongoing pandemic and you don’t see them using it an excuse to jack up prices. Your salaries aren’t increasing and you can’t tell The Man you’re going to start imposing “crisis fees” on him because you need the money. This is exploitation, plain and simple. 
with Covid-19. Not only did online casinos benefit in general (185% more revenue), live-dealer play was off the charts, up 317%. It seems that housebound gamblers still hanker for personal interaction, even if via computer. Said Nate Johnson, product manager of PayPerHead, “Sportsbook software allows players to stream live dealer games on their tablets and mobile phones. Digital casinos use animation, and its cool animation. But many casino players still crave the human element. Numbers don’t lie. If you’re