{"id":4199,"date":"2010-07-30T11:13:52","date_gmt":"2010-07-30T19:13:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/?p=4199"},"modified":"2022-07-24T05:31:03","modified_gmt":"2022-07-24T13:31:03","slug":"concord-in-massachusetts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/concord-in-massachusetts\/","title":{"rendered":"Concord in Massachusetts; Mixed bag at Melco"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s been leaked to the Boston Globe<\/em> that a deal is at hand that would resolve the impasse currently holding casino-enabling legislation at bay. While still probably not to Gov. Deval Patrick<\/strong>‘s liking (he wants one racino, the compromise bill would have two), it indicates that the state Senate has prevailed over the lower house. The nitty-gritty is that three resort casinos would be permitted (good news for Las Vegas Sands<\/strong> and Wynn Resorts<\/strong>), while horse tracks would have to vie for a pair of licenses.<\/p>\n

This last provision removes the seamy prospect of tracks like Suffolk Downs<\/strong> (above<\/em>) getting “juiced” for slots while resorts operators grapple for finite licenses. The governor would like to see non-racing venues allowed to bid on the slot-parlor gig but, considering the concessions made by both sides (particularly by House Speaker Robert DeLeo<\/strong>), it’d be churlish and short-sighted to reject a bill such as the one that has (allegedly) been hammered out. Massachusetts really can’t afford to dawdle much longer, as the value of a casino license continues to decline.<\/p>\n

A J.P. Morgan<\/strong> analysis of the compromise bill sees relief for the “stubbornly low” slot-manufacturing group (i.e., IGT<\/strong>, Bally Gaming<\/strong> and WMS Industries<\/strong>), with 45% of market share going to IGT, Bally and WMS splitting another 40%, leaving a smallish niche for everybody else. If projections of 1,500 racino slots and 9,000 resort-based ones, this is some much-needed wind beneath manufacturers’ wings.<\/p>\n

\"\"Depending on whether you<\/strong> see the glass as half-full or half-empty there was still something for everybody in Melco Crown International<\/strong>‘s 2Q10 earnings report. Cash flow of $43 million at City of Dreams<\/strong> (left<\/em>) was 28% below expectations and $309 million in revenue was 6% less than anticipated. Given the heated (overheated?) performance of Macao<\/strong>‘s casinos this year, any shortfall at City of Dreams is doubly disappointing, especially from a company that did better than expected in table-game hold, mass-market hold, slot handle and rolling chip volume.<\/p>\n

The good news came from Altira<\/strong>, where cash flow was 35% higher than expected, coming in at $37 million. Overall revenues also saved Melco’s bacon (so did strong play at its Mocha Clubs<\/strong>) as Altira grossed $231 million, 15% above expectations. This company continues to be a puzzle, perhaps even to itself.<\/p>\n

Freudian slip?<\/strong> Former Nevada Gaming Commission<\/strong> Chairman Brian Sandoval<\/strong>, currently running for governor of Nevada<\/strong>, appears to have committed truth<\/a> in loose chat with Univision<\/strong> staffers. “But even saying his kids would not be profiled under the Arizona<\/strong> law because of how they look is a very careless thing to say<\/em>,” writes<\/a> Jon Ralston<\/strong>, particularly as it ratifies the views of those who equate Arizona’s immigration policy with Latino-bashing … which is why Nevada business interests want no part of it. Mexican license plates are showing up more and more often in Vegas casino garages. Anything that could incite a Vegas boycott (especially by conventioneers) or chill Hispanic visitation is something greatly to be feared in these precarious times.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s been leaked to the Boston Globe that a deal is at hand that would resolve the impasse currently holding casino-enabling legislation at bay. While still probably not to Gov. Deval Patrick‘s liking (he wants one racino, the compromise bill … 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":[109,77,28,44,14,26,29,96,94,62,93,33,111,12,92,32,9,19,89],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4199"}],"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=4199"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4199\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31445,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4199\/revisions\/31445"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4199"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4199"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4199"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}