{"id":26838,"date":"2020-04-22T09:49:59","date_gmt":"2020-04-22T17:49:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/?p=26838"},"modified":"2020-04-22T09:49:59","modified_gmt":"2020-04-22T17:49:59","slug":"carnage-in-louisiana-documentary-slams-mgm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/carnage-in-louisiana-documentary-slams-mgm\/","title":{"rendered":"Carnage in Louisiana; Documentary slams MGM"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Louisiana<\/strong> casinos grossed $97 million last month, having been closed on March 17. April appears to be a dead loss. Surprisingly, the <strong>Baton Rouge<\/strong> market was the least hard-hit although at -58% everything is relative. The 61% statewide plunge compares to a 2.5% dip in March 2019. Given its <img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-7957\" src=\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Harrahs_NO-300x219.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"219\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Harrahs_NO-300x219.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Harrahs_NO-150x109.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Harrahs_NO.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>degree of exposure, it&#8217;s no surprise that <strong>Caesars Entertainment<\/strong> had the biggest decline of any operator, 63%. <strong>Harrah&#8217;s New Orleans<\/strong> fell 64% to $10.5 million, while competitors grossed far less still: <strong>Boomtown New Orleans<\/strong> $5 million (-57.5%), <strong>Treasure Chest<\/strong> $4 million (-59%), <strong>Fair Grounds<\/strong> racino $2 million (-51.5%) and <strong>Amelia Belle<\/strong> $1.5 million (-63%). The total <strong>New Orleans<\/strong> gross ($23.5 million) not only fell below <strong>Lake Charles<\/strong>&#8216; $33.5 million but\u2014<em>horribile dictu<\/em>!\u2014<strong>Shreveport<\/strong>\/<strong>Bossier City<\/strong>. Those <strong>Texas<\/strong>-based players must have <!--more-->been looking for some serious gambling relief last month.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Horseshoe Bossier City<\/strong> ($6.4 million, -65%) actually fell behind <strong>Margaritaville<\/strong> ($6.5 million, -59.5%) for the first time ever, a Pyrrhic <img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-16112\" src=\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Horseshoe-Bossier.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"192\" height=\"262\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Horseshoe-Bossier.jpg 192w, https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Horseshoe-Bossier-110x150.jpg 110w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 192px) 100vw, 192px\" \/>victory for the underdog. <strong>Eldorado Shreveport<\/strong> was next with $4.5 million (-62%), while <strong>Sam&#8217;s Town<\/strong> ($3 million, -60%), <strong>Boomtown Bossier<\/strong> ($2.5 million, -55.5%), <strong>Harrah&#8217;s Louisiana Downs<\/strong> ($2 million, -49%) and <strong>Diamond Jack&#8217;s<\/strong> ($2 million, -57.5%) brought up the rear to varying degrees. In Baton Rouge, it was another win of sorts for <strong>L&#8217;Auberge Baton Rouge<\/strong>, grossing $6 million (-58%), far outgrossing <strong>Eldorado Resorts<\/strong>&#8216; decrepit <strong>Belle of Baton Rouge<\/strong> ($1.5 million, -57%) and <strong>GLPI<\/strong>&#8216;s <strong>Casino Roug<\/strong>e ($2.5 million, -56%).<\/p>\n<p>As for Lake Charles, there was some consolation to be had for <strong>Tilman Fertitta<\/strong>, whose <strong>Golden Nugget<\/strong> was dominant, with $12 million (-59%), followed by <strong>L&#8217;Auberge Lake Charles<\/strong> ($11 million, -62.5%). <strong>Isle Grand Palais<\/strong> eked out $4 million (-62%), while <strong>Delta Downs<\/strong> tallied $7 million, down 62.5%. All involved must be pining awfully hard for an early May reopening and hoping Gov. <strong>John Bel Edwards<\/strong> (D) feels the same.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"vimeo-player\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/404652460\" width=\"450\" height=\"253\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Two and a half years later, we&#8217;re still trying to understand the motivations behind the <strong>Mandalay Bay Massacre<\/strong>. A new documentary, <em>Money Machine<\/em>, posits that it was a vendetta against <strong>MGM Resorts International<\/strong> by killer <strong>Stephen Paddock<\/strong> to get even over gambling losses. We have some difficulty with that contention, as Paddock also cased <strong>Fenway Park<\/strong>, among other places he could stage mass murder. However, <em>Money Machine<\/em> is less concerned with the &#8216;why&#8217; of the massacre than the aftermath, in which MGM sued many of the victims, one as young as six years.<\/p>\n<p>The scattershot trailer above generates more heat than light about the events but reviewer <strong>David Alm<\/strong> boils it down to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/davidalm\/2020\/04\/20\/what-happened-in-vegas---a-new-documentary-unpacks-the-sordid-aftermath-of-the-2017-mass-shooting\/#462b28e77de7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" class=\"broken_link\">a concerted civic cover-up<\/a>, one that has kept the name of <strong>Las Vegas<\/strong> out of such ranks of infamy as <strong>Columbine<\/strong>, <strong>Parkland<\/strong> and <strong>Sandy Hook<\/strong>. &#8220;It was imperative, the film deftly argues, that people keep coming to Vegas, keep spending money in its casinos, and under no circumstances associate it with what happened on October 1st, 2017,&#8221; writes Alm. This entailed &#8220;a web of corruption and cover-ups that make the Vegas of yesteryear, when it was still run by the mob, seem positively quaint\u00a0&#8230;\u00a0a Las Vegas controlled by huge corporations and a compromised police department is vastly more nefarious than the city built and run by gangsters well into the 1980s.&#8221; All we can say is watch and judge for yourselves. <em>Money Machine<\/em> is streaming online through the auspices of the <strong>Cleveland International Film Festival<\/strong> through the 28th.<\/p>\n<p>* Although it seems incredibly counterintuitive in these Coronavirus times, <strong>Caesars Palace<\/strong> is investing <a href=\"https:\/\/vegas.eater.com\/2020\/4\/21\/21229049\/bacchanal-buffet-2-4-million-makeover-caesars-palace\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">$2.5 million in an upgrade<\/a> to <strong>Bacchanal <img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-20311\" src=\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Caesars-Palace-300x190.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"190\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Caesars-Palace-300x190.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Caesars-Palace-150x95.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Caesars-Palace.jpg 625w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>Buffet<\/strong> (no doubt with price increases to match). As much as we love this buffet\u2014we could happily just dine at the seafood station\u2014we have to question Caesars&#8217; priorities. At least CEO <strong>Anthony Rodio<\/strong> is putting money into capex before <strong>Tom Reeg<\/strong> takes over and starts &#8216;reeg-ing&#8217; havoc.<\/p>\n<p>* If we had a say in the Presidential Medal of Freedom, we&#8217;d give one to <strong>Jos\u00e9 Andr\u00e9s<\/strong>, who&#8217;s been on the front lines of the pandemic fight. In Las Vegas, <a href=\"https:\/\/vegas.eater.com\/2020\/4\/21\/21229507\/world-central-kitchen-jose-andres-medical-workers-las-vegas-coronavirus-pandemic\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">he&#8217;s setting up shop<\/a> at the <strong>Sahara<\/strong>, aiming to feed 1,500 medical workers this week. It&#8217;s part of Andr\u00e9s&#8217; <strong>World Central Kitchen<\/strong> outreach program. Health workers aren&#8217;t getting a fraction of what they need these days so we&#8217;re doubly grateful to Andr\u00e9s for doing his bit to show appreciation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Louisiana casinos grossed $97 million last month, having been closed on March 17. April appears to be a dead loss. Surprisingly, the Baton Rouge market was the least hard-hit although at -58% everything is relative. The 61% statewide plunge compares &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/carnage-in-louisiana-documentary-slams-mgm\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[60,244,24,176,18,199,190,189,84,228,245,10,69,54,9,129],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26838"}],"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=26838"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26838\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26840,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26838\/revisions\/26840"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26838"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26838"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26838"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}