Category Archives: Illinois

MGM crippled; Illinois & Indiana report; Bally’s shaky in Chi

Different day, same story for MGM Resorts International, brought to its knees by a cbyer-assault of still-unknown provenance. The FBI has been brought in although, per standard operating procedure, the G-Men aren’t commenting on what went down. MGM is daintily … Continue reading

Posted in Bally, Barstool Sports, BetMGM, Boyd Gaming, Caesars Entertainment, Chicago, Churchill Downs, Dan Lee, DraftKings, FanDuel, Full House Resorts, Golden Nugget, Hard Rock International, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Law enforcement, Marketing, MGM Resorts International, Penn National, Technology, Wall Street | 2 Comments

Hot July in Vegas; GLPI’s Illinois big gulp; Mega-Jottings

How impressive was the Las Vegas Strip‘s July performance? Pretty damned impressive, considering that it hit a best-ever record on only 1% higher visitation than last year and 4% less than in the halcyon year of 2019. Hotel occupany ran … Continue reading

Posted in Boyd Gaming, Caesars Entertainment, California, Charity, Churchill Downs, Conventions, Economy, Election, Failsinos, GLPI, Hard Rock International, Hawaii, Health, Illinois, New Hampshire, Palms, Problem gambling, Real Estate, San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, The Strip, Tribal, Virginia, Wall Street, Wisconsin | Comments Off on Hot July in Vegas; GLPI’s Illinois big gulp; Mega-Jottings

Mega-Jottings for a Monday

What do to when there’s no news story that simply dominates the headlines? Bust out an extra-large serving of “Jottings,” of course! For instance, Resorts World Las Vegas should turn it around in the latter half of this year, even … Continue reading

Posted in Atlantic City, Bally, Barstool Sports, Caesars Entertainment, Chicago, Cordish Co., ESPN Bet, Genting, Illinois, Internet gambling, Kentucky, Law enforcement, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, North Carolina, Politics, Racinos, Regulation, Resorts World LV, Singapore, Sports, Sports betting, The Strip, Wynn Resorts | Comments Off on Mega-Jottings for a Monday

Macao powers Wynn; Indiana down, Missouri flat

Sounding pleased with Wynn Resorts (“Upside across the board”), J.P. Morgan analyst Joseph Greff lauded its 2Q23 performance as “solid,” without budging from his “Overweight” rating or $142/share price target. That’s despite Wynn blowing past Greff’s cash-flow estimates for Macao, … Continue reading

Posted in AGA, Bally, Barstool Sports, BetMGM, Boyd Gaming, Caesars Entertainment, Canada, Century Casinos, Dining, DraftKings, FanDuel, Full House Resorts, Genting, Hard Rock International, Health, Illinois, Indiana, Internet gambling, Macau, Massachusetts, MGM Resorts International, Missouri, New York, Penn National, PointsBet, Problem gambling, Rush Street Gaming, Sports, Sports betting, Station Casinos, The Strip, Tribal, Wall Street, Wynn Resorts | Comments Off on Macao powers Wynn; Indiana down, Missouri flat

Portnoy, Penn splitsville; Full House fire sale?

Like bad sex, the connubial bliss between Penn Entertainment and Barstool Sports ended abruptly. Cretinous Dave Portnoy becomes someone else’s problem child following the second-quarter-earnings revelation that Barstool was being sold back to its founder, jilted in favor of much … Continue reading

Posted in Atlantic City, Bally, Barstool Sports, BetMGM, Caesars Entertainment, Canada, Chicago, Colorado, Connecticut, Cretins, Dan Lee, Donald Trump, DraftKings, FanDuel, Florida, Foxwoods, Full House Resorts, Health, Illinois, Lake Tahoe, Las Vegas Raiders, Missouri, Mohegan Sun, Penn National, Politics, Regulation, Sexual misconduct, Sports, Sports betting, Tribal, TV, Wall Street, Westgate LV | Comments Off on Portnoy, Penn splitsville; Full House fire sale?

Maryland down, Illinois up; NFL hypocrisy; Bally’s biz

Gaming industry bears are going to latch onto a 4% drop in Maryland gambling earnings as evidence of an impending recession. Thankfully, J.P. Morgan analyst Joseph Greff puts it in context by pointing out that the $174 million haul is … Continue reading

Posted in Atlantic City, Bally, Boyd Gaming, Caesars Entertainment, Charity, Churchill Downs, Cordish Co., DraftKings, Election, Entertainment, Full House Resorts, Golden Gaming, Golden Nugget, Hard Rock International, Illinois, Maryland, MGM Resorts International, Penn National, Politics, Sports, Sports betting, Station Casinos, Virginia, Wall Street, West Virginia | Comments Off on Maryland down, Illinois up; NFL hypocrisy; Bally’s biz

Strip flattens, locals fade; Analysts mixed on Boyd

While not as bad as Deutsche Bank expected (-8%), June revenues on the Las Vegas Strip of $727 million were a disappointment, down 1%. And May’s brief flurry of hope from Las Vegas locals players faded fast as their losses … Continue reading

Posted in Architecture, Aristocrat, Boulder Strip, Boyd Gaming, California, Downtown, Entertainment, FanDuel, Illinois, Internet gambling, Lake Tahoe, Laughlin, Mesquite, Movies, North Las Vegas, Reno, Slot routes, Sports, Sports betting, The Strip, Tribal, Wall Street, Wendover | Comments Off on Strip flattens, locals fade; Analysts mixed on Boyd

Casinos boffo everywhere: Unite-Here dumbassery

Beating Wall Street expectations comfortably, Las Vegas Sands reported cash flow of $973 million yesterday. Wall Street had expected $939 million from the second quarter while a more optimistic Joseph Greff of J.P. Morgan had projected $964 million. Macao-derived revenues … Continue reading

Posted in Arizona, Atlantic City, Barstool Sports, Boyd Gaming, Caesars Entertainment, California, China, Churchill Downs, Cordish Co., Cretins, Dining, DraftKings, FanDuel, Greenwood Racing, Health, Illinois, Internet gambling, Las Vegas Sands, Macau, Mohegan Sun, New Jersey, Ocean Resort, Penn National, Pennsylvania, PointsBet, Politics, Rush Street Gaming, Singapore, Sports betting, Tourism, Transportation, Tribal, TV, Unite-Here, Wall Street, WInd Creek | 1 Comment

Atlantic City, Massachusetts up, Illinois down; Crime fails to pay

Atlantic City rebounded nicely in June, up 5.5% to $241.5 million. Table game winnings were flat, despite 3.5% larger wagering than last year (so the players made out well) and slot win jumped 7% on a commensurately higher amount of … Continue reading

Posted in Atlantic City, Australia, Bally, Barstool Sports, BetMGM, Boyd Gaming, Caesars Entertainment, Churchill Downs, Crown Resorts, Dan Lee, DraftKings, FanDuel, Full House Resorts, Golden Nugget, Hard Rock International, Illinois, International, Internet gambling, Kazuo Okada, Law enforcement, Marketing, Massachusetts, MGM Resorts International, Mohegan Sun, Ocean Resort, Penn National, Philippines, Sports betting, Taxes, Technology, Virginia, Wall Street, Wynn Resorts | Comments Off on Atlantic City, Massachusetts up, Illinois down; Crime fails to pay

Rio makeover due; DraftKings stiffs you; Las Vegas deemed #1

Having been spared being the next home of the miserable Oakland Athletics, now The Rio faces the question of whether there’s life after Caesars Entertainment. To that end, owner Dreamscape Cos. is going to try to go it alone as … Continue reading

Posted in Architecture, Australia, Caesars Entertainment, Dining, DraftKings, Galaxy Entertainment, Health, history, Illinois, Law enforcement, Macau, Marketing, Minnesota, Palms, Rush Street Gaming, Sports, Sports betting, The Rio, The Strip, Tribal, Virgin Hotels, Virginia, Wall Street, WInd Creek | Comments Off on Rio makeover due; DraftKings stiffs you; Las Vegas deemed #1

A big win for DeSantis; Churchill Downs fired; Mega-Jottings

Private-sector gambling operators got some very bad news from the District of Columbia Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals. The latter, in a very broad construal of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, ruled that the Seminole Tribe—and by implication, … Continue reading

Posted in Alex Meruelo, Arizona, Atlantic City, Australia, Bally, Barstool Sports, BetMGM, Boyd Gaming, Caesars Entertainment, Charity, Churchill Downs, Dining, Donald Trump, DraftKings, Eldorado Resorts, Entertainment, FanDuel, Florida, Fontainebleau, Golden Nugget, Hard Rock International, Illinois, Internet gambling, Jack Entertainment, Marketing, MGM Resorts International, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Penn National, Pennsylvania, Politics, Real Estate, Regulation, Reno, Rush Street Gaming, Seminole Tribe, Sports betting, Technology, The Strip, Tribal, TV, Wynn Resorts | 1 Comment

Trop’s fate sealed; Massachusetts up, Louisiana down

Now that the fix is in for the Oakland Athletics to get a vanity stadium in Las Vegas, the bosses of the Tropicana Las Vegas are losing no time in getting what’s really important: Imploding the old girl. Of course, … Continue reading

Posted in Bally, Barstool Sports, Baseball, BetMGM, Boyd Gaming, Caesars Entertainment, California, Churchill Downs, CQ Holdings, DraftKings, Fanatics, FanDuel, Golden Nugget, Illinois, Louisiana, LVCVA, Massachusetts, MGM Resorts International, Penn National, PointsBet, Politics, Regulation, Sports betting, The Strip, Vici Properties, Wall Street, Wynn Resorts | Comments Off on Trop’s fate sealed; Massachusetts up, Louisiana down

Case Bets

Congratulations, Las Vegas Golden Knights. For the second time in a year, Las Vegas has announced itself as a major-league city by bringing home a championship trophy. First it was the Las Vegas Aces of the WNBA, now the Knights, … Continue reading

Posted in Arizona, Barstool Sports, BetMGM, Caesars Entertainment, Cretins, DraftKings, FanDuel, Illinois, Law enforcement, Palms, PointsBet, Rush Street Gaming, Sports, Sports betting, Wynn Resorts | 1 Comment

Maryland droops; Boardwalk bulletin; Barstool blunder

Mr. & Mrs. America’s torrid, post-pandemic love affair with casino gambling is finally cooling. It’s not cause for alarm, as we knew this was coming—in fact, it was expected to happen much sooner. And while players are dropping less at … Continue reading

Posted in Atlantic City, Bally, Barstool Sports, Baseball, Boyd Gaming, Caesars Entertainment, Churchill Downs, Cordish Co., DraftKings, Fanatics, Full House Resorts, Golden Gaming, Golden Nugget, Hard Rock International, Health, Illinois, LVCVA, Marijuana, Maryland, Massachusetts, MGM Resorts International, Nevada, Penn National, Politics, Problem gambling, Regulation, Sports, Sports betting, The Strip, West Virginia | 5 Comments

Fanatics and freeloaders; Texas fails twice over

In its frenetic effort to gain market share in the U.S., Fanatics has cut a deal with outgoing PointsBet. For the relatively cheap price of $150 million, it is buying the American (but not Canadian) operations of PointsBet, which tells … Continue reading

Posted in Barstool Sports, Baseball, Caesars Entertainment, Culinary Union, DraftKings, Failsinos, FanDuel, Illinois, Las Vegas Sands, Macau, Marketing, Missouri, New York, PointsBet, Politics, Racinos, Rush Street Gaming, Sociedade de Jogos de Macau, Sports betting, Station Casinos, Taxes, Texas, The Strip, TV | Comments Off on Fanatics and freeloaders; Texas fails twice over

Illinois up, Missouri down; Golden fails to glitter

New product lifted Illinois‘ gambling grosses last month, as same-store revenues slipped 1%. The overall haul was $128 million and much of the propulsion came from The Temporary at American Place in Waukegan and its $7 million take. Hard Rock … Continue reading

Posted in Arizona, Atlantic City, Bally, Barstool Sports, BetMGM, Boyd Gaming, Caesars Entertainment, Century Casinos, Churchill Downs, Dining, DraftKings, FanDuel, Full House Resorts, Golden Gaming, Golden Nugget, Hard Rock International, Illinois, Laughlin, Maryland, Missouri, Nevada, Oklahoma, Penn National, Rush Street Gaming, Slot routes, Sports betting, Tribal, Wynn Resorts | 1 Comment

Portnoy torches Penn; Station “outstanding”; DraftKings improves; Alabama betting brouhaha; Derby gone to the dogs

Penn Entertainment stock collapsed 13% Wednesday afternoon after Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy took to Twitter to rant and rave about the firing of Ben Mintz, a ‘Stool fool who dropped the N-word on air for all the world to … Continue reading

Posted in Alabama, Animals, Barstool Sports, Baseball, Caesars Entertainment, California, Canada, Churchill Downs, Cordish Co., Cretins, DraftKings, Golden Gaming, Horseracing, Illinois, Internet gambling, Marketing, Maryland, Massachusetts, MGM Resorts International, North Las Vegas, Ohio, Penn National, Sports, Sports betting, Station Casinos, The Mob, The Strip, Wall Street, West Virginia | Comments Off on Portnoy torches Penn; Station “outstanding”; DraftKings improves; Alabama betting brouhaha; Derby gone to the dogs

Wynn’s Arabian nights; White Paper no whitewash

Resisting the temptation to call it Aladdin 2.0, executives at Wynn Resorts unveiled designs of their United Arab Emirates casino resort, Wynn Al Marjan Island. Noting that its’ the company’s first oceanfront resort, Wynn is quick to assure us that … Continue reading

Posted in Architecture, Bally, Caesars Entertainment, Chicago, Churchill Downs, Dan Lee, DraftKings, Full House Resorts, Illinois, International, Internet gambling, Las Vegas Sands, Macau, Money laundering, New Hampshire, New York, Politics, Problem gambling, Regulation, Slot routes, TV, United Kingdom, Virginia, Wall Street, Wynn Resorts | 1 Comment

Boyd praised; Graft at Wynn?; NFL hypocrisy

Wall Street analysts loved up on Boyd Gaming following its 1Q23 earnings call. Boyd, Deutsche Bank analyst Carlo Santarelli wrote, “delivers another strong performance … the merits of the story remain compelling on a relative basis.” He pushed his price … Continue reading

Posted in Baseball, Boyd Gaming, Caesars Entertainment, California, Detroit, Dining, Downtown, FanDuel, Hawaii, Illinois, Internet gambling, Louisiana, Mississippi, Penn National, Real Estate, Reno, Service, Slot routes, Sports, Sports betting, Station Casinos, The Strip, Tilman Fertitta, Tribal, Wall Street, Wynn Resorts | 2 Comments

Blame it on baccarat; Crime at Hard Rock; Dixie-dumb

The Great American Gambling Craze isn’t abating, although Las Vegas Strip revenues slipped 3% in March, down to $724.5 million. This was paradoxical, as it came in a month in which airline passenger loads into and out of Las Vegas … Continue reading

Posted in Atlantic City, Boulder Strip, Caesars Entertainment, Canada, Colony Capital, Dining, Donald Trump, Downtown, Entertainment, Environment, Golden Nugget, Hard Rock International, history, Illinois, Internet gambling, Lake Tahoe, Laughlin, Law enforcement, Macau, Mesquite, Mohegan Sun, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Las Vegas, Politics, Regulation, Reno, Rush Street Gaming, Sports, Sports betting, Taxes, Tennessee, The Strip, Tourism, Tribal, Wendover, WInd Creek | 1 Comment