Alex Meruelo has begun exorcising the unclean spirit of Sam Nazarian from SLS Las Vegas. In a giant gesture of faith, Meruelo 
will invest $100 million in a property makeover, starting with those oh-so-excessively-trendy hotel rooms. Next week Meruelo will get around to the much-criticized casino floor and to Nazarian’s pride and joy, the pool complex. Speaking of purgations, the Las Vegas Review-Journal has finally gotten around to dropping the de riguer practice of referring to the myopic Nazarian as a “visionary” every time his name was mentioned. Thank you. Now could we please put the “Sahara” name back on the casino, Mr. Meruelo?
* Gather ye rosebuds while ye may, Culinary Union. An ominous study by Continue reading
CEO Mark Frissora would want to get back in. Last month, gross gaming revenues were $152 million, a 4% increase, powered by an 8% improvement at the racinos. (Casino business was static.) Penn National Gaming‘s Hollywood Toledo was flat at $16 million, while Hollywood Columbus slid 5% to $17.5 million. But Hollywood Dayton was up 2.5% to $8.5 million and Hollywood Mahoning Valley jumped 5.5% to $10 million.
weakness was “a blip … driven by a ‘perfect storm’ of: (1) Very tough comps from two ‘supercharged’ Summers in 2016 and 17, (2) Much higher mix of Leisure and price sensitive [online travel agency] customers, (3) Mid-week July 4 holiday, and (4) Continued impact of October 1.” He also notes “continued rate pressure at the lower end of the market, especially from lower rates at Park MGM and continued weakness in the vicinity of Mandalay Bay.”
Congress. “You’re saying only Indians can have the reservations, only Indians can have the gaming, so why don’t you approve it for everybody?”, Trump asked. Now he is in the White House, his Secretary of the Interior has taken land out of trust for the first time since the Termination Era (1946-1975) and the Mashpee Wampanoag find themselves outside looking in. The Termination Act was a bit of Harry Truman administration policy to try and force Native Americans to assimilate by dissolving their reservations. As erstwhile Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R) put it, “If you can’t change them, absorb them until they simply 
number of tourists and tour buses that pass through. We have current customers and employees of Silverton that live in Pahrump, so we thought it would be fun to build an extension of the Silverton brand there” Silverton President Craig Cavileer told the Pahrump Planning Commission. We don’t think casinos 
development and job creation. That’s why each passing month makes it more obvious that the most productive path forward for Connecticut is to pass legislation calling for competitive bids on any new commercial casino in the state, and to get started on that process.” — from MGM Resorts International‘s formal statement last week on a 
million, which translates to $1.8 million/day. Impressive, no question. Revenues continue to skew towards (heavily taxed) slots, with $30.5 million, and away from table games ($24 million). Maryland Live was up 7% to $50 million, while Horseshoe Baltimore continues to fade, down 1.5% to $21 million. The advantage of being near the Baltimore Ravens‘ stadium is not so great when you consider that it is in use only 10 days a year, plus playoffs.
down 5% despite a state-leading $34 million gross. Grand Victoria, now Eldorado Resorts‘ problem, was off 8% to $13 million, while Harrah’s Joliet dipped 5% to $14 million. Penn National Gaming had very mixed results, with Hollywood Aurora holding its ground the best at $10 million, only 3% off but Empress Joliet tumbling 11% to $9.5 million. In the St. Louis market, Argosy Belle got a 12% hammering, to $4 million, while Casino Queen plummeted 11% to $7 million.
a date “recently … affirmed” by Genting Group. In other good news for Sin City, convention and meeting planners are experiencing a dearth of good spaces in the U.S., making Las Vegas — with its plethora of convention halls — all the more attractive. Per McKnight, it “underscores our view that Q3 and Q4 weakness are outliers, and demand trends and mix should return to normal levels next year.”
choice for the HRAC job. Lupo will be well versed in the Hard Rock methodology, having come fresh from Hard Rock Tampa (which now changes horses in the midstream of a vast renovation). “I would like to thank Matt for his contribution to Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City and appreciate his efforts leading the successful opening of this exceptional property,” said Hard Rock International COO Jon Lucas as he opened the trapdoor. The Press of Atlantic City 
power to control gambling expansion in the Sunshine State and — at least in the hopes of political bedfellows Disney and the Seminole Tribe — put a de facto end to casino growth. Yes, the Florida Lege has been exceptionally incompetent on gaming issues, fumbling them away in session after session. But unless Florida is to have a crazy quilt of gambling laws, the status quo in Tallahassee should be preserved, After all, nobody ever said that lawmaking was pretty. (Quite the opposite.) In the meantime, Disney and the Seminoles 
spending from betting operators on advertising, data and sponsorship and revenue generated as a result of increased consumption of the league’s media and products.” The AGA cites the results of a 
daily basis, like Google, like Apple, and companies that are in our space, like Scientific Games, or adjacent verticals, like Zynga, are all down there, competing for the talent among themselves, but also competing for the talent that’s coming from the university, because they have an extremely strong program.” — Everi Holdings CEO Michael Rumbolz on his company’s decision to 
committee dealt to its witnesses. Sheldon Adelson puppet Jon Bruning whined predictably that “there needs to be some federal guardrails regulating online gambling,” although it is significant that Adelson appears to have conceded the inevitability of Internet gambling. “I think one thing all of you agree on is that for Congress to do nothing is not an option,” Sensenbrenner 
ones where amenities are concerned. In an even more improbable development, The D was named ‘best Las Vegas casino,’ putting Big Gaming to shame. More ‘expectable’ was the choice of Foxwoods Resort Casino as best non-Las Vegas casino. Best casino restaurant also went to the Mohegans: Capriccio in Resorts Atlantic City. (Some of you must have eaten there; how good is it?) Best loyalty program was no surprise at all: Total Rewards. We have to hand it to Gary Loveman, who built a better mousetrap with that one.