Forget that handsome rendering up above. It’s ‘inoperative,’ as the Nixon administration used to say of statements that weren’t true. Why? Because Bally’s Corp. struck water in its plumbing of the future site of Bally’s Chicago. More specifically, it discovered that driving caissons to support a 500-room hotel would damage water pipes along the Chicago River. Oops. “We need to come up with a different way to build a tower because we can’t now put it on Chicago Avenue,” explained Bally’s Chairman Soo Kim. Funny, but it took 13 months for Bally’s to reach this conclusion.
Sounds like Bally’s failed to do its due diligence when choosing the site and designing for it. All the lovely renderings in the world are as nothing compared to the hard reality of Chicago infrastructure. Simply put, Bally’s goofed and it now it looks podunk. This is surely the consequence of a rushed decision-making process whereby then-Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D) hustled Bally’s onto the throne without full consideration given to alternatives, or even to Bally’s. $40 million in upfront money will do that. Wing Nuts
As a consequence, Bally’s is forced into an architectural compromise that sounds butt-ugly: two asymmetrical hotel towers. One will be a 74-foot stump containing 100 rooms, while the other 400 units will be crammed into a second tower built somewhere else on the old Chicago Tribune site. “The proposed site plan revision is under review,” said a spokesman for Mayor Brandon Johnson (D), circumspectly. Bally’s meanwhile is trying to act like it planned it this way all along, or as Kim said, “We still fulfill the same host community agreement … There’s no delay as long as we’re building the 100 rooms somewhere,” he continued airily. “And the easiest place to build 100 rooms is on top of the existing structure versus trying to lay out new structures. The whole point of this minor change is so there’s no delay.” (emphasis added)
Back when she was a freshman congresswoman, Rep. Dina Titus (D) ran for an initial reelection but came up against Big Gaming, which preferred GOP empty suit Jon Porter. Titus eventually battled her way back into the House of Representatives but clearly learned her lesson, subsequently carrying Big Gaming’s water on things like odious resort fees. Now she’s at it again. To be clear, we oppose the federal excise tax on sports wagers. It ought to be repealed. But if it stays in place, then Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D) has the right idea: namely, to divert the money into help for disordered gamblers. Indeed, with states like Nevada blithely shirking their responsibility to gambling addicts, maybe Washington, D.C. needs to step in. Heck, most of the money would be block-granted to state programs anyway under the bill.
As Keith Whyte, executive director of the National Council on Problem Gambling said, “The investment into gambling addiction research, prevention, and treatment is a necessary step to minimize gambling-related harm nationwide and reduce its impact on countless American families.” Titus shot back that states like Nevada “also fund responsible gaming resources to address problem gambling.” Ha! That’d be a laugh if it weren’t so tragic. Then, in a breathtaking non-sequitur, she argued that the Blumenthal proposal “would exacerbate already destructive tax policies that put the legal gaming industry at a disadvantage to illegal offshore operations.” Ah yes, let’s roll back taxes on Big Gaming to make it ‘more competitive.’ That’s pure GOP boilerplate, coming from the other side of the aisle. As for the American Gaming Association, protecting the bottom line also seems to be its primary concern.
The AGA jumped on the Titus bandwagon, with spokesman Cyrus Cylke saying, “Nearly every tax dollar earmarked for problem gambling services comes from casino gaming taxes, including new legal sports betting and iGaming markets.” Somebody needs to clean up the problem-gambling mess. Why not the industry? The pitch by Blumenthal and Rep. Andrea Salinas (D) would direct at least $55 million a year toward treatment of disordered gambling. Hardly a princely sum once spread across 50 states, some of which can’t be bothered to do anything themselves. Why stop at 50% of the excise tax? Let’s rechannel the whole kit ‘n kabodle.
Unfortunately, the bill is now the remit of the Committee on Energy & Commerce in the House, on which Salinas does not sit. (DItto Blumenthal and the Senate Committe on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions.) So there’s a good chance that Blumenthal and Salinas’ bill could make as much progress as Titus’ one to repeal the excise tax altogether: none. Which would put us back to Square One.
Continuing a warming trend in casino revenues, Pennsylvania gambling houses did 3% better in December than the year before, grossing $291 million. Parx Casino hopped 3.5% to a state-leading $50 million, rivaled only by Wind Creek Bethlehem‘s $44 million (+5%). Philadelphia Live (pictured) leapt 13% to $22 million, still putting distance between itself and Rivers Philadelphia ($19 million, -5.5%). Harrah’s Philadelphia continued its downward spiral, falling 9% to $12 million but staying a couple of decimal points ahead of Valley Forge Resort ($11.5 million, +5.5).
Despite a -4.5% month, Rivers Pittsburgh resumed its domination with $30 million, even as Hollywood Meadows gained some ground ($16.5 million, +5%), as did Pittsburgh Live ($10.5 million, +6%). Best of the rest was Mohegan Pocono‘s $17 million (+4%), followed by Mount Airy, up 7% to $15.5 million. Hollywood Penn National hopped 2.5% to $14 million, while Presque Isle Downs‘ 8% climb was good for $9 million. Isle Nemacolin, suddenly the Little Casino That Could, rocketed 44% to $2 million, while satellites all had a good month save for Hollywood Morgantown, down 2% to $6 million. Hollywood York rose 3% to $8.5 million, while Parx Shippenburg banked $3 million.
Internet casinos generated another $165 million, $61 million of which went to the catchall Hollywood Casino franchise, followed by FanDuel with $41 million, whilst BetRivers continued to fade, down to $31 million. Sports betting saw revenues leap 35% to $98 million on handle of $926 million. Promotional activity witnesssed $25.5 million go right back out to customers, driven by new, promo-crazy ESPN Bet. After giveaways, it failed to break the million-dollar mark. The post-promo leader was FanDuel ($39 million), followed by DraftKings ($19 million). Way back were BetMGM ($4 million), BetRivers ($3.5 million), Parx ($2 million) and Caesars Sportsbook ($1 million).
Recovering from a gentlemanly swoon are gambling receipts in Louisiana. Last month they were only down 1% from 2022 and even with 2019, for a tally of $210.5 million. Sports betting garnered an additional $56.5 million on handle of $377 million, thanks to exceptionally high hold. Lake Charles remains where the action is, even with the novelty factor wearing off Horseshoe Lake Charles. It was down 9% to $9.5 million. Also suffering from competition was L’Auberge du Lac, which plunged 10.5% to $28 million. Golden Nugget led the market (and state) with $31 million, up 3%, while Delta Downs hopped 3% to $14 million. In New Orleans, renewed life was seen at Harrah’s New Orleans, up 8% to $25 million. Second-place Boomtown New Orleans ($10 million) slid -4.5% and Fair Grounds racino ($3.5 million) lagged -6.5%. Gainers included Treasure Chest ($7.5 million, 2.5%) and Amelia Belle ($2.5 million, 1.5%). Outlying Evangeline Downs jumped 13% to $6.5 million.
In Baton Rouge, the thoroughly refreshed Queen Casino continued to drain its rivals. Sister property Belle of Baton Rouge plummeted 41% to a pathetic $700K that probably can’t even pay the electrical bill. L’Auberge Baton Rouge also suffered, down 9% to $15 million. In the Shreveport/Bossier City area, Margaritaville ($16.5 million) slipped 8% but remained tops with $16.5 million. Its nearest rivals were Horseshoe Bossier ($14 million, flat) and Bally’s Shreveport ($10 million, flat). Sam’s Town was down a point to $3.5 million while Louisiana Downs galloped +23.5% to $3.5 million. It hasn’t done too badly since leaving the Roman Empire.
Internet casinos and sports betting combined for a 19% gain in Michigan last month. The former brought in $181.5 million, of which the plurality—$47 million—went to BetMGM. Other major players were FanDuel and DraftKings, with $43 million each, threatening MGM’s supremacy. BetRivers garnered $11.5 million and Caesars Digital $9.5 million. Sports betting generated another $61 million. ESPN Bet was a non-factor, losing $4 million in its second month. FanDuel was way out front with $21 million, against DraftKings ($11 million) and BetMGM ($6 million). No need to belabor the paltry results achieved by Caesars Sportsbook, BetRivers, WynnBet and Fanatics, all way below the Mendoza Line, though not nearly as deep underwater as ESPN.
Jottings: Casino operators in Atlantic City continue to wail that they’re not scoring as much from in-person gamblers as before Covid-19 struck but they’re making much of it up on the back end. 2023 was a record year for New Jersey, as its casinos and sports books wallowed in $5.8 billion in dough. Even so “in-person casino winnings were the highest in a decade,” sayeth The Associated Press … Next stop for Hard Rock International—Lake Texoma? Yes, that Oklahoma master-planned development is where the money is (and who can argue with Hard Rock’s track record?). The tribal-casino giant is planning a 189-room hotel in Pointe Vista, partly to take advantage of several nearby Chickasaw Nation casinos … Full House Resorts will be temporarily displaced from the Tahoe Biltmore Lodge & Casino, which is being leveled by Hilton Hotels & Resorts to make way for redevelopment (see below). Who gets custody of resident ghost “Mary”? … Wynn Resorts, currently enjoying the benefits of the Las Vegas Grand Prix, is anticipating making out like a bandit from the upcoming Super Bowl. That’s why Macquarie Securities analyst Chad Beynon pegged it to outperform the gaming group and hit $112 a share … MGM Resorts International just rolled out a $110 million revamp of Bellagio—and a new set of resort-fee hikes to accompany it. Now it will cost you an extra $50 a night just for the privilege of staying at MGM’s flagship property, above and beyond the princely room rental. In the case of infamous Excalibur, the $37/night resort fee is arguably more than the room is worth.
Quote of the Day: “You say we lost but what’s this loser mentality?” — veteran Borgata dealer Pete Naccarelli to New Jersey state Sen. Vince Polistina (D), during a confrontation last week.
This Bally’s situation is not good in Chicago and two smaller towers will be harder to see from downtown Chicago. Bally’s also needs to get funding still for their Chicago casino along with their proposal in Vegas which includes demolishing the Tropicana and then building a new hotel-casino. The A’s also need funding to build their baseball stadium next to Bally’s hotel-casino once the Tropicana is demolished. I would think at this point Bally’s is much more interested in Vegas than Chicago.
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