It’s difficult to imagine investors being impatient with Las Vegas Sands but The Motley Fool‘s Travis Hoium suggests that they are. “Unless a new market like Japan hits, that cash flow machine is all Las Vegas Sands has to offer,” he 
writes. Sounds plenty good to us. Consider that profit leapt 64% last quarter, admittedly propelled by a one-time, $556 million gain from the sale of Sands Bethlehem. Hoium’s take on Macao was that it was just “shuffling of demand” between the newer resorts. Still, Sands China‘s focus of demand continues to pay off: Revenue at Parisian was up 11.5% and at Four Seasons 13.5%. That’d be a gross of $414 million and $211 million, respectively. True, revenue dipped 5% at Sands Cotai Central ($483 million) but considering that it is in the midst of a $2.2 billion reinvention as The Londoner, that’s not so bad. Even Venetian Macao was still going strong, up 3% for a gross of $854 million.
VIP-derived revenue was down 14% but mass-market play rose 15%, which means Sands is Continue reading
coincidental—but surely not—that McCarran International Airport set a June record for arrivals and departures. Strip slot win was up 10% on 8% higher coin-in while baccarat win rocketed an eye-popping 117% on only 20% higher wagering. The house, if it needs saying, played very luckily. Not on non-baccarat games, however: Win was down 10% on 7.5% less wagering. The June numbers helped out a 2Q19 that had been rather lackluster, up less than 1% for the quarter on 3% less table win and 4% greater slot win. The gross-revenue and baccarat comparisons for July will be easy, so it will be interesting to see if the Strip can repeat June’s command performance.
TripAdvisor reviews were culled to create a ranking that ends at Harrah’s Council Bluffs and begins at Wynncore. At #20, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, edged out Caesars Palace and Aria. WinStar Casino in Oklahoma is not only the largest tribal gambling palace it is also the highest-rated (#4), while Harrah’s New Orleans (#5) dominated the Caesars Entertainment portfolio, followed by The Cromwell (#11) and Horseshoe Bossier City (#12). You’ll want to keep those, Tom Reeg. Back on the Strip, Palazzo eclipsed its progenitor, Venetian (#16). In Reno, leading the list at #8 is Atlantis Casino Resort Spa. Hardly anyone plays at Lady Luck Nemacolin but enough liked it to make it lucky #7, the only Pennsylvania casino to crack the top 50.
befell Harrah’s” in 2007, perhaps worse since Caesars has sold most of its real estate, leaving with less of an asset base against which Eldorado can borrow. The latter will cash and carry $7.2 billion of the acquisition, cover some of the cost with stock (Eldorado’s is far more valuable than Caesars’), assume $6.3 billion in debt, and have Vici Properties sell assets and jack up rents by $98.5 million. Eldorado “may be in a more precarious position than you might think,” writes Hoium. “The debt load may not seem onerous if you look at the projected $3.6 billion in annual [cash flow, a 21% return on investment] after the deal is closed, which includes $500 million of assumed synergies, but we shouldn’t assume that EBITDA will remain where it is now forever.”
Stitt, for his part, is playing chicken with the tribes, threatening to shut all their casinos on Jan. 1 if they don’t dance to his tune. “We believe Gov. Stitt has been misinformed about how these compacts work. We believe this is a correct fee structure. Either it’s the same deal, or he wants to offer a better deal to the tribes,” Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association Chairman Matt Morgan said. He counterproposed adding new revenue streams like Class III table games and sports betting. Furthermore, he stated that an “evergreen” clause in the compact had already turned over, giving the tribes 15 more years of exclusivity.
expectations” on the Strip and in line with anticipation about Macao. Despite weak baccarat volumes in Las Vegas, the company performed “marginally better than three to six months ago.” That includes MGM 2020, which generated $100 million in savings, not the $70 million that was expected. Table game win (Strip only) was 22% up on 7% higher wagering. Similarly, slot win rose 4% on 1% more coin-in. Non-gaming revenues rose 5%. Overseas, MGM Cotai continues to underperform, missing Wall Street projections by $12 million.
the Massachusetts Gaming Commission. Garick is irked that the MGC’s investigation lasted all of a day and was conducted 
“The terrible art of the candidate is to coddle the self-deception of the stooge.”—new British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
gambling house. Instead, the Gray Lady tells you were to find the best oysters in town, guides you to antiquarian books and the Noyes Arts Garage or the African-American Heritage Museum of Southern New Jersey. That will work up an appetite for White House Subs (“Takeout lines are often longer than those for a table”) or a thirst for Little Water Distillery, which dates back to Prohibition. If you don’t mind its dodgy surroundings, the Iron Room offers “hundreds of whiskies, an excellent wine list, plenty of craft beers, and ambitious cocktails” to slake your thirst. Ocean’s brand-new sports book got it 
casinos and “a quite attractive exchange rate.” That’s the conclusion of a TravelTrivia.com survey. Other cities that made 
was nearly 10% lower, year over year. The area had a hard time but Penn National Gaming has be singled out for apparent mismanagement of L’Auberge Lake Charles ($26 million), which fell 15%, compared to 8% for both Isle Grand Palais ($8 million) and Delta Downs ($15.5 million). Golden Nugget eked out the tiniest of edges on L’Auberge, with $26 million plus pocket change, down 5.5%. As Eldorado Resorts sheds weak properties from its portfolio, it should consider ridding itself of Belle of Baton Rouge, plummeting 43% to $2 million. By contrast, L’Auberge Baton Rouge grossed $12 million (-6%) and Casino Rouge was down 8% to $4.5 million.
which is a particular type of blackjack game that is separate and distinct from standard blackjack,” investigator Bruce Band wrote to the MGC. As for getting change on your slot play, which the machines round down to the nearest dollar, you have to go to the cashier to get it. “It was probably not posted clearly enough by Encore,” wrote Band. In a ‘my bad’ move, Encore will begin posting signage that reads, “Machine only dispenses cash, ticket will print for change. Please take ticket to the cashier to redeem.” President Robert DeSalvio has also floated the idea of installing coin-in/coin-out machines. “Every single customer gets every dollar and every penny that they have coming due to them,” he added.
its casinos. (A seventh concessionaire might also be added.) However, the government of China hates online gambling almost as much as Sheldon Adelson does, and allegations that Suncity has been active in the promotion of Internet play 
swirling around them, the Kingston brothers 
(which will probably require physical expansion: it’s pretty packed in there); third, slots at Arlington Park, though Politzer thinks Churchill Downs may sell the latter now its real estate is more valuable, among several other options: “we could envision a scenario whereby CHDN would opt to sell its 336 acres of land at Arlington Park, utilize a 1031 exchange to limit tax leakage, and pursue an additional casino license in Illinois (potentially with Rush Street Gaming/Neil Bluhm; the Waukegan license seems most logical, in our view …).”