New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) is taking the long view on casino closures—as in, what happens if they last two months? He’s measuring the negative economic impact at $1.1 billion. According to The Press of
Atlantic City, “That figure encompasses all direct and indirect economic 
activity associated with the casino industry, including gaming revenue, food and beverage and hotel, but also the impact on suppliers, vendors and workers.” It’s not an entirely bleak picture for the casinos, as Internet gambling is unaffected, but they’re looking at an indefinite retail closure, which is going to upend Atlantic City just when things were looking great: 21 straight months of revenue increases. Last year’s’ $3.3 billion gross has been replaced with a big question mark for 2020. Unfortunately, the American Gaming Association continues to behave recklessly, demanding an immediate resumption, public health be damned.
Meanwhile, our choice for Irresponsible Public Servant [sic] of the Year goes to Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman (D), who’s still yammering to reopen the casinos, less than a week after Gov. Steve Sisolak (D) shut them down. Evidently public safety is a Continue reading
should be significant and its magnitude and duration uncertain, but it should not have a permanent, forever impact. And one of the more interesting values, in our view, when we look across this carnage, is WYNN,” he wrote. That isn’t because Macao is improving (“it’s really not”) or that China‘s government is easing up on visas (it isn’t) or even that Las Vegas will rebound speedily (it probably won’t). No, Wynn’s “low levels are good entry points for those with a longer time horizon and a buy-and-hold view.” Although it’s wallowing around $57/share right now, Greff sees WYNN shooting back up to $93/share.
me about it!) As though one’s immune system 
crash. That’s the literal price of owning 432,000,000 shares of Las Vegas Sands. Not that ill-fortune is crimping Sheldon’s lifestyle. He just put down $17 million on a pied-a-terre in Malibu, his ninth residence in the Colony gated community. Compared to the $138 million that Steve Wynn wants for his SoCal mansion, we’d say Adelson is a real bargain hunter. Speaking of the Wynn family, Elaine Wynn lost a cool billion in the stock market, bringing her wealth down to $1.4 billion. The Fertitta Brothers are now worth $1.6 billion apiece, which they’ll need as the fallout of a Las Vegas recession on Station Casinos would be dire indeed. But the really ill-advised tycoon may be 
continuity of leadership for the Company,” which doesn’t make much immediate sense on the face of it. Replacing Murren as chairman of the board is Paul Salem, who chairs the real estate committee of the company, which has precious little real estate left to sell. Salem said, “The nation is facing an unprecedented crisis, causing the travel and hospitality industry to grind to a near halt. It is clear that once the threat to the public health has subsided and we are ready to reopen our resorts and casinos, it will take an incredible effort to ramp back up. We believe continued steady, skilled leadership is needed in this time of great upheaval and uncertainty. Bill is one of the most experienced operators in the business and 
expansion of lottery offerings 
(and there have been some) to close up shop or face legal consequences. “I repeat, if you’re not an essential business, I’m using my power as governor under an emergency declaration to order you to close,” Sisolak said in a teleconference. “If businesses defy this directive and stay open, state and local law enforcement will have the ability to treat this as a criminal act.” Local governments are given discretion as to what fine or other punishment to levy.
Saying her city “cannot survive” a month-long shutdown, Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman (D) wants Gov. Steve Sisolak (D) to drastically reduce his 30-day casino closure. We admire Goodman normally but think she’s out of her depth here or, as a veteran travel-magazine editor put it, flying “totally in the face of good sense and reason.” Goodman should let Sisolak’s quarantine run its course. Even Rep. Dina Titus (D), who constituency is the Las Vegas Strip, writes, “Avoid social gatherings of 10 people or more.” Speaking of Las Vegas, some of the best restaurants—such as Marché Bacchus—are hanging tough, offering take-out and curbside dining. Here’s 
repurchases (good) and cutting dividends, the company is 
people safe.” So said Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) on Sunday, ordered the indefinite closure of the Free State’s seven casinos. Cordish Gaming CEO David Cordish tried to push back, complaining that bars, restaurants, etc. remained open as his Maryland Live went dead. Cordish’s myopic push backfired, as Hogan simply extended the closings to more public venues. When business does return to some semblance of normal, Maryland casinos give us an idea of what we can expect: fewer seats at table games, fewer slots.
investors to “stay neutral,” lowering his price target from $19/share to $15. Noting a plunge (63%) in 2020 equity, Greff wrote, “Unfortunately, GDEN‘s 4Q report does not matter much in the current environment of volatility and uncertainty.” The company “said its properties are seeing mostly normal levels of activity and are by no means ghost towns, and that no closures are currently planned. The Strat has been performing well (it was sold out just this past weekend), and GDEN looks forward to operating the property without any construction disruption over the coming year.” It added that it was looking at slot routes in Pennsylvania and Missouri.