Month: May 2021

Merger in the background.

The acquisition of Caesars Entertainment proposed by Tilman Fertitta and the acquisition of Caesars Entertainment by MGM rose to headlines in November. Although neither business has materialized, previous mergers and acquisitions dominated the industry in 2018.
Eldorado Resorts, a Reno casino company that gained national attention after buying the island of Capri in 2017, made significant changes in 2018, with the acquisition of Grand Victoria Casino in Chicago and the acquisition of Tropicana Entertainment with GLPI in October (GLPI brought the property, Eldorado operates the casinos). The organization has 28 assets in 12 states and territories.

In October, Penn National merged with Pinnacle Entertainment and gave 40 properties to 18 states under Penn’s control. This compares positively to Caesars Entertainment’s global portfolio of about 50 properties. Boyd Gaming bought four casinos, including Valley Forge Casino, which Penn had to sell as part of the Pinnacle acquisition.

Washington is changing.

The resignation of Geoff Freeman, CEO of the American Gaming Association, marks the end of a short but fruitful chapter in the organization’s history. Under Freeman’s leadership, the organization expanded its membership to include tribal gaming organizations as well as smaller service and technology providers. His most obvious achievement was the AGA’s drive to legalize sports betting (see point 2 above), but he also helped the AGA respond to changing times in many other ways. As the casino industry redefines itself, the appointment of DC insider Bill Miller as CEO could anticipate new approaches.

These five stories contributed to 2018 in casino games, which was 2018. While it is unclear how they will affect the industry in the future, it is difficult to claim that they made 2018 a memorable good or bad.

Essential Quality is a favorite of this year’s Kentucky Derby betting odds +275. The undefeated horse has a couple of Class 1 wins, including the Breeders ’Cup youth poker sider competition in 2020. While that win was significant, the Breeders’ Cup youth winners have only won the Kentucky Derby twice in 36 attempts. Luis Sáez rode the Essential Quality Breeders Cup to victory, and his experience at Churchill Downs should help him.

Sáez and Horse Maximum Security were the winners of the race 22 minutes before the title was removed due to rejection of the race. Sáez gets a second chance to win a prize he was able to see earlier. History favors favorites in this race, so it’s no surprise that many sports bookmakers have mentioned the biggest risk of the day.

Rock Your World is the second favorite winner today in the race after a good performance at Santa Anita, and at +475, the three-year-old has seen late support from bettors hoping for shocking better odds.…

With the year almost over, it’s time to think about the most significant events of the year in the casino industry. The gaming industry, which continues to adapt to changing social and economic conditions, failed due to news or dramatic improvements in 2018.

Steve Wynn has decided to close Wynn Resorts.

He has usually been awarded the invention of modern Las Vegas. Without the resorts he designed, such as Golden Nugget, Mirage, Treasure Island, Bellagio, Wynn and Encore, Las Vegas would be very different today. Mirage revolutionized the concept of a casino center and paved the way for the mega-target era of the 1990s. His departure from Wynn Resorts is undeniably important.

The Las Vegas Strip would have expanded in the 1990s with or without Wynn. However, without him, the new resorts would have favored Excalibur over Caesars Palace. After all, Circus Circus Enterprises was a huge success, and Caesars was the takeover of Donald Trump (among others) before ITT bought it in 1995. As a result, there was general skepticism about The Mirage’s potential profitability. The idea of ​​an integrated mass-luxury center with no focus on gaming could not have been caught up if the sensitivity and financial acumen of Wynn’s design had shown that it could be achieved.

As a result, Wynn’s distinction from the business that bears his name and has led the industry in many respects is significant.

You can now bet on sports!

The Supreme Court’s decision to repeal PASPA, the 1992 law banning states other than Nevada from placing new bets, was the second major tier of the year. Delaware has been offering straightforward betting since May (previously it only offered multiplayer games), and New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Mississippi, West Virginia and Rhode Island have also started sports betting.
Betting hasn’t meant much in absolute dollars yet… yet. In October, for example, the states of Delaware, New Jersey, Mississippi, and West Virginia (with a combined population of 14 million people) won nearly half of all Nevada betting revenue. Nevada has a population of about three million people. The key is how betting blends with other gambling options available in the state. Sports betting accounted for less than 3% of Nevada’s gaming revenue in October. Betting generates nearly 5% of revenue in New Jersey, indicating that it has the ability to have a much larger share of earnings in markets other than Nevada. This explains why both casino companies and manufacturers have rushed to enter the sports betting market. While it is not a significant part of sales at the moment, it is growing, which is often more valuable to shareholders.

REIT is on the rise.

REITs (Real Estate Investment Trust) have been a key part of the ownership structure of the casino industry. REIT is a company that owns revenue-generating real estate, such as casinos, and leases it to operators (casino companies such as Penn National, MGM Resorts, and Caesars Entertainment). With REITs owning more than $ 3 trillion in funds across the United States, it’s no surprise that gaming companies with significant real estate ownership have moved to REITs. Penn National Gaming created the first gaming REIT, Gaming and Leisure Properties Inc., in 2013. GLPI bought most of Penn National’s assets and leased their management back to Penn, which has become a gaming REIT plan. Since then, GLPI has acquired casinos previously owned by other companies and has played a significant role in the restructuring of the industry.

MGM Growth Properties and VICI, the other two playing REITs, have exited MGM Resorts International and Caesars Entertainment, respectively. Both did well in 2018 by adding real estate (including those not maintained by their predecessors, such as VICI’s Margaritaville in Bossier City, Louisiana) and paying monthly dividends. The REITs may have become their own in 2018, indicating that they will become a long-term staple in the gaming world.…

Although online casino games have only been legal in New Jersey since 2013, they have rapidly become a significant part of the state’s lucrative gambling industry, and revenue continues to grow year after year.

In March, July and September 2018, revenue from online casino games was over $ 25 million. Compared to 2017 sales, this year’s monthly growth has been in double digits. Rural casinos in Atlantic City, in turn, brought in less than $ 20 million a month, prompting some analysts and casino experts to wonder if online gambling would hinder rather than boost casino growth.

The Atlantic City casino industry was hit in 2016 when five major casinos, including the Trump Taj Mahal, the Atlantic Club Casino Hotel and Trump Plaza, closed their doors and tables in the months leading up to the election. During the same period, online casino gaming grew at an annual rate of 62.5 percent. As a result, the online operation of land-based casinos can significantly increase profits. However, it is possible that such a policy will “cannibalize” the sales of their other companies.

Steve Norton, a former casino director and analyst at Atlantic City, argues that the success of online gaming puts this “once healthy” industry at risk because it is likely to reduce our casino participation. As a result, “downsizing” can lead to job losses, bankruptcies, and lower casino revenues and dividends.

As if competition in the online gaming industry isn’t enough, two brand new integrated resorts in Atlantic City recently opened: the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino and the Ocean Resort Casino. The struggle to increase non-gambling and land-based casino revenues for all government institutions is now more difficult than ever. Surprisingly, gaming revenue in September 2018 declined from the previous year in six of Atlantic City’s nine casinos still open.

Wayne Schaffel, another Atlantic City casino insider, believes that as government revenue continues to decline, New Jersey is likely to grow its already lucrative iGaming market (including casino gaming and betting) over the next decade, further weakening the casino, leading to closures. “

The temptation to gamble online

According to global statistics, online casino gaming sites serve a much wider audience than traditional casinos, and this is also true for New Jersey players. Online casinos and poker rooms have a relatively private and unprejudiced environment for gaming, which makes them attractive to female gamers and minorities who may not feel comfortable in a crowded casino. When you consider the wealth of money-saving bonus codes available on online platforms, you start playing casino games at a fraction of the cost of a regular casino.

Online casino games are no longer just desktops and laptops; handheld devices are crucial to the continued growth of the industry. Players can quickly and easily download mobile casinos and individual apps to their smartphones and tablets, ensuring they have access to their favorite games. In addition, online casinos are still open and offer customers games around the clock, 365 days a year.

With a better view

Schaffel and Norton could agree that “there is no real way to make up for the deficit” that would result from the closure of new casinos in New Jersey. However, not all Atlantic City experts agree. PlayNJ.com lead analyst Steve Ruddock’s perception of online casino area cannibalization elsewhere is more of a hyperbol than a fact. He believes the games from online casino games are exaggerated, claiming that it “has not adversely affected visits or consumer spending,” referring to five years of data, suggesting that it is useful everywhere.

Golden Nugget Atlantic City Casino, currently the leading online gaming casino in New Jersey with over $ 227 million in online sales, is a testament to this counter-theory. The online operations of this in-country casino have increased sales and brand awareness among younger customers. “The growth in online gaming coincided with the strong growth in our terrestrial business,” says Thomas Winter, CEO and Senior Vice President of Online Gaming at the casino.…