824 grand. That’s how much online poker revenue Nevada generated in February, the first month in which it has reported such numbers. (Sheldon Adelson‘s fear of Internet poker is like an elephant cowering before a mouse.) Since online play went live, it has brought in $8.5 million.
Compared to an epic February 2013, last February was more like business as usual, with revenues falling 20% on the Strip. (Statewide, the slippage was 14%.) Not even a $20 million Super Bowl haul could reverse Las Vegas‘ fortunes. The whales seem to have stayed home, too. Baccarat players wagered 22% less and the casinos got cleaned out, making 41% less gross baccarat revenue than 2013. A low hold percentage also hurt, save at Wynn Resorts and MGM Grand, according to a J.P. Morgan report.
A slight increase in Strip slot play produced 2% growth in revenue but the house played unlucky at table games. Deutsche Bank analyst Carlo Santarelli wrote, “we view this as the one silver lining in the year to date.” 11.5% less play produced 19% less revenue. Were it not for baccarat, Strip revenues would only have been off 7.5%. Looking at the bright side, only Laughlin (-5%), the Boulder Strip (-9%) and Lake Tahoe (-9%) experienced significant declines. Reno and the balance of Clark County were flat, while both North Las Vegas and Downtown were up about 3.5%. Comparisons in the North Las Vegas and Boulder Strip markets have been weak for three of the last four months, leading one to question the extent to which the local economy has recovered.
At least somebody’s making out like a bandit on the stalled Menominee Tribe casino in the Kenosha area. The State of Wisconsin has agreed to pay the law firm of Dykema 
Gossett three times the originally agreed-upon amount to study the issue, bringing its fee to $1.5 million. (There goes that 15% discount.) Dykema, chosen by Gov. Scott Walker (R) for its large tribal practice, in turn, has hired California-based Nathan Associates to sift through the paperwork. The choice is hardly frivolous. Nathan is where tribal gaming expert par excellence Alan Meister hangs his hat. Secretary of Administration Mike Huebsch defended the pricey advisors as necessary to sort through “the complexity of both the Kenosha casino proposal and its economic impact on Wisconsin.” He’s not exaggerating: Three tribes have agreements with the state that call upon it to reimburse them if a new casino makes their revenues go south. That’s a lot of number-crunching for Dykema.
Things appear to be going at a winged pace in Fall River, where Foxwoods Massachusetts hopes to f ind safe harbor. A host-community agreement is expected to be done by April 8, setting the state for an early June referendum. If that passes, Foxwoods could make the Massachusetts Gaming Commission‘s July 23 deadline with ease. By contrast, KG Urban‘s rival New Bedford project can’t get out of the blocks. A feeble request for a deadline extension was recently voted down. The Foxwoods project would take the place of a derelict mall and a couple of retail outlets.
