{"id":26631,"date":"2020-04-03T09:18:16","date_gmt":"2020-04-03T17:18:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/?p=26631"},"modified":"2020-10-16T07:09:48","modified_gmt":"2020-10-16T15:09:48","slug":"maryland-craters-penn-takes-trop-loss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/maryland-craters-penn-takes-trop-loss\/","title":{"rendered":"Maryland craters; Penn takes Trop loss"},"content":{"rendered":"

Free State Gov. Larry Hogan<\/strong> (R) having closed casinos on March 16, revenue results were predictably dire, down 58%. That’s a measly $69 million gross. MGM National Harbor<\/strong> booked $26 million, a 58.5% slide, with slots down 62% and tables falling 55%. If it’s any consolation, MGM retained the most market share\u201438%\u2014although Maryland Live<\/strong> is closing the gap with 36%. Horseshoe Baltimore<\/strong> was a distant third at 14.5%. The \"\"latter plunged 61% to $10 million while Maryland Live fell 55.5% to $25 million. Barely registering as blips on the radar were Hollywood Perryville<\/strong> with $3 million (-58%), Ocean Downs<\/strong>‘ $3 million (-59%) and Rocky Gap Resort<\/strong>‘s $2 million (-58%). West Virginia<\/strong> casinos enjoyed one more day of business and were only down 35% by comparison, partly because the reporting period is not exactly congruent with Maryland’s. At Charles Town Races, slots were 37% off and tables fell 31%. This is just the first of what are bound to be many such reports.<\/p>\n

* Penn National Gaming<\/strong>‘s Tropicana Las Vegas<\/strong> misadventure just looks worse and worse. Bloomberg<\/em> reveals that Penn took a $52.5 million bat<\/a>h \"\"on the Strip dowager in order to get five months’ free rent from Gaming & Leisure Properties Inc<\/strong>. One thought the salvation of the gaming industry, REITs have become an elephant on its back, generating a new form of liability: rent. Asset sales and debt restructuring could be the fallout, according to veteran gaming analyst Jason Ader<\/strong>. How apt that this should happen to Penn, which was Patient Zero\u00a0in REITmania. It shelled out $870 million in rent and has long-term obligations to the tune of $11 million.<\/p>\n

There’s a limited silver lining in the Trop deal. If GLPI sells it in the next two years, Penn gets three-fourths of anything over $308 million. But\u00a0\u201cWhat is more important right now is firming up additional liquidity and showing the market how long their business is sustainable without operations,\u201d wrote Stifel Nicholas & Co<\/strong>. analyst\u00a0Steven Wieczynski<\/strong>. Post-Trop deal, Penn’s got seven months to get that act together.<\/p>\n

* With so many Americans hoarding toilet paper (for reasons to delicate to disclose), Encore Boston Harbor<\/strong> is stepping into the butt crack<\/a>, donating TP to Coronavirus<\/strong>-relief efforts. Contrary to what we reported \"\"yesterday, first responders in Detroit<\/strong> who are comped hotel rooms at Greektown Casino<\/strong> must be Covid-free. We apologize for the error. Two Detroit police officers have died of the disease and another 39 are infected. In Queens, health officials have requisitioned Aqueduct Racetrack<\/strong> as an ancillary hospital. Las Vegas Sands<\/strong> qualifies for low-interest CARES Act loans<\/a>, although it’s not clear whether CEO Sheldon Adelson<\/strong> will tap them, because its workforce is below 10,000. Looking like Casey Jones<\/strong> in his MAGA hat, Adelson doled out attaboys on a bipartisan basis, praising Trump and Govs. Steve Sisolak<\/strong> (D), Andrew Cuomo<\/strong> (D), Mike DeWine<\/strong> (R) and Gavin Newsom<\/strong> (D). We’re not making that up.<\/p>\n

* Just because sports betting is scarce doesn’t mean it’s extinct. Soccer from Belarus<\/strong> and Ukrainian table tennis are hot right now<\/a>.\u00a0One Florida<\/strong> sports book is taking over\/unders on how much Donald Trump<\/strong> will say something like “fantastic” in his daily press briefings.<\/p>\n

* Caesars Entertainment<\/strong> is a ghost empire, having furloughed nearly its entire workforce. Estimates run from 90% to 94%. The move does not affect Caesars’ overseas properties. Caesars shareholders are going to be \"\"$200 million richer, thanks to a “ticking fee” that’s going to keep on kicking in as the consummation of the Eldorado Resorts<\/strong> merger drags into June<\/a>. Company officials swear the $17.5 billion deal is no risk. Says one,\u00a0\u201cThe deal was constructed with a balance sheet to survive a crisis, with ample liquidity and no debt maturities until 2024.\u201d Meanwhile, Nevada Gaming Commission<\/strong> Chairman Tony Alamo<\/strong>, who hasn’t signed off on the merger yet, has had a come-to-Jesus moment about casino attendance.\u00a0\u201cThe gaming industry won\u2019t turn back on like a faucet with water,\u201d he told CNBC<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

* The Trump Organization<\/strong>, co-owner of Trump International Las Vegas<\/strong>, is in familiar territory, seeking to defer loans<\/a> on its properties. That’s bad news for one bank. Reports the Boston Globe<\/em>, “Deutsche Bank<\/strong> has lent [Donald] Trump and his companies about $2 billion since 1998, the only mainstream financial institution consistently willing to do business with Trump and his companies.”<\/p>\n

* Getting Away With It Dept<\/em>.: Lakeisha Holloway<\/strong>, who slammed her car into Las Vegas Strip<\/strong> pedestrians in 2015, has been found incompetent to stand trial. Remember, one person was killed by her and 12 more injured. That’s justice delayed and<\/em> denied.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Free State Gov. Larry Hogan (R) having closed casinos on March 16, revenue results were predictably dire, down 58%. That’s a measly $69 million gross. MGM National Harbor booked $26 million, a 58.5% slide, with slots down 62% and tables … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[244,176,70,44,42,14,199,190,97,283,241,189,72,112,245,69,33,254,12,243,9,38,139,233],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26631"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26631"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26631\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28354,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26631\/revisions\/28354"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26631"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26631"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26631"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}