It now appears that Terry Caudill‘s two casinos were the victim of a “ransomware” hack that crippled the slot floor, among other debilities. It wrecked last weekend’s business and “scattered outages” were still seen as 
of Monday. The Nevada Gaming Control Board has initiated an investigation. Eternal vigilance is the price of a well-functioning casino, it would appear. “No matter what you do, the hackers just have to be right one time and as an IT professional, I have to be right every single day and all those attacks are happening on a daily basis,” said pundit Garvin Bushell. Caudill remains under the cone of silence, which may be the best thing to do while the NGCB does its work. Meanwhile all those customers who had to Continue reading
in the bank whereas a poor month at volatile baccarat can spoil your quarter. “Over the past few weeks, we have been closely monitoring and evaluating the situation around COVID-19 to ensure we are taking the necessary measures to protect the health and wellbeing of Adobe Summit attendees. As a result, we have made the difficult but important decision to make Summit/Imagine 2020 an online event this year and cancel the live event in Las Vegas,” wrote organizers. Let’s hope this ‘online event’ thing doesn’t become a trend. It’s even worse for SXSW, which lost Twitter and Facebook. There’s a double whammy.
of the state’s elusive, final casino license. That’s up from 430 grand in 2018. Bluhm definitely believes in spreading the wealth: The 2019 outlay was split between three lobbying firms. Bluhm spokesman Joe Baerlein chalked up the big bucks to the need to persuade a reluctant Massachusetts Gaming Commission to part with that last license in the face of an adverse casino economy.
for fiscal alleviation. There may be a silver lining to coronavirus, at least for some gambling houses. Reports the Wall Street Journal, “The high rollers—mostly wealthy businessmen from mainland China—may come back sooner than casual gamblers, provided their businesses recover from the hit. Many of them hold business visas, which are subject to fewer restrictions, while casual gamblers may also be more cautious in their travel plans.” That’s good news if you’re VIP-centric Wynn Resorts, not so much if 
did selected video-poker machines. Terry Caudill clammed up when reporters came calling, so most of what we know falls in the category of anecdotal customer reportage. Needless to say, with slot machines KO’d, so was their TITO capability. (A $17 hand pay took an hour.) “Maybe the one IT guy dropped his stack of punch cards and then missorted them,” grumbled a player. Points could not only not be accrued at slots but, reportedly, at table games as well. ATMs were allegedly idled and credit cards unusable, while comps could not be redeemed.
exposed stocks. Caesars Entertainment slipped 2.5%, Boyd Gaming was down almost as much, ditto Station Casinos and Eldorado Resorts took a 9.5% tumble. JP Morgan‘s intervention on behalf of Churchill Downs seems to have had some effect, as the stock regained lost ground, up 2%. But let’s face it, The Street is skittish about tourism-centric stocks. For those of the glass-half-empty persuasion, gaming stocks stabilized (except for ERI) because 
Bay. Calling the location “iconic,” William Shopoff 
reassure the markets that fears of a coronavirus-impaired (or worse, canceled) Kentucky Derby were “overblown.” He urged investors to look to the CHDN balance sheet for “calm in the storm.” (We can’t think of the last time a banking house interceded in this fashion on behalf of a company it covered.) Penned Politzer, “While we are not calling a bottom in CHDN here, nor can we say with strong confidence that the Derby will take place on May 2nd as scheduled, we believe the stock’s 14% decline in the past two trading days (24% off its recent high) … provides an attractive risk/reward.”
Bennett returns to The Venetian. He’ll play the 12th, 14th and 15th, with an assist from Antonia Bennett. Tickets start at $50, with a portion of the proceeds going to Exploring the Arts Inc. As New York Magazine said of the ageless songster, “no one else on Earth can make a lyric written eight decades ago sound as natural as a conversation at a coffee shop.” Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday.
Joseph Greff, although one of those staying neutral on CHDN, tried to wax reassuringly: “We note that heading into the event, the majority of the Derby’s revenue/EBITDA is already baked (premium tickets/PSLs, sponsorships, media rights, etc.), so as long as the event takes place (it has run for the past 145 consecutive years), we believe the impact of COVID-19 on CHDN should be limited.” He added that “CHDN is seen as a good place to be amidst current market volatility (strong balance sheet, stable cash flow/trophy asset, and limited exposure to 
wagering. (In fairness, January 2019 was terrible for baccarat.) Other table games didn’t do too badly, up 5.5% (despite 31% more wagering) and while coin-in at the slots rose 11%, casinos just won 5%, thanks in part to looser hold. February should be easy pickings for the Strip, coming off a 2019 that was 2% and in which the house got its clock cleaned at baccarat (-26%). Speaking of slot win, some of that at Las Vegas locals casinos may have been rolled into February reporting. Otherwise it’s hard to account for a 2% diminution in 
State. The Massachusetts Gaming Commission—unlike its counterparts in Nevada and New Jersey—is empowered to weigh the economic impact of such a move, a question over which it has been agonizing for months. Now residents of Bristol, Plymouth, Nantucket, Dukes and Barnstable counties 
effect becoming a PAC. PCM, which is trying to raise money—perhaps disingenuously—through GoFundMe, describes itself as a “group dedicated to community awareness. We are in favor of a casino/resort and other progressive establishments for the growth and development of Pope County.” Complainant Teresa Russell says she’s against a casino, at least one that’s a grind joint.-
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