Pinnacle Entertainment did a brilliant job of managing Wall Street‘s expectations, its cash flow coming in $5 million above analysts’ consensus, 
driven by lower operating expenses. J.P. Morgan‘s Joseph Greff called the results “better than feared,” which tells you how The Street is feeling about regional gambling markets these days. Pinnacle saved $26 million simply by eliminating redundancies in its takeover of Ameristar Casinos and promised more to come. Projects such as a River City expansion and the Belterra Park racino in Ohio remain on course.
Revenues rose moderately (17%) in the South and enormously (114%) in the Midwest as Pinnacle absorbed Ameristar’s revenue streams, which include $53 million from Nevada, a market in which Pinnacle has not hitherto been represented. Deutsche Bank analyst Carlo Santarelli wrote that “today’s results – especially given low expectations across the regional space in light of regional [gross gaming revenue] trends, PENN’s EPS miss, and BYD’s negative pre announcement – should be well received.” And so they were.
MGM Resorts International is stepping up its effort to cater to electric 
cars. Four existing charging stations will be augmented by 23 more, divided between MGM’s Las Vegas Strip properties and Circus Circus Reno. It’s easy to pay lip service to sustainability but one applauds MGM for actually doing something about it. The company is also disclosing its plans for its Beltway-adjoining casino project in Maryland, pictured. By the numbers, it’s $925 million (cost), 2016 (opening), 3,600 (slots), 140 (tables), 300 (hotel rooms) and 1,500 (theater seats). No telling how big a bite it’s going to take out of the competition but it will probably be a fearsome chomp.
The Mashpee Wampanoags passed another benchmark in their slow-motion pursuit of a casino, saying the “final phase of the environmental review process is now underway.” Casino opponent Michelle Littlefield rather entertainingly put the matter in context. “There are so many little carts to pull and no horse to pull them. None of this means crap until they have land in trust. The environmental impact statement doesn’t mean a hill of beans if they don’t have land in trust,” she sputtered. Traffic congestion at one intersection appears to the be the public’s salient concern.
Smurf this! Though it can’t get into the for-money side of online gambling, Foxwoods Resort Casino plans to offer simulated Internet action. It’ll be available on smart phones, tablets and i-everything, with promotional offers taking the place of jackpots. Irish firm GameAccount Network is Foxwoods’ partner and CEO Dermot Smurfit (!) said, “Simulated Gaming demonstrates our ability to monetize free-to-play gaming and will drive increased visitation to the operator’s property.” The proof will be in that pudding soon enough.
