No gold rush in California

CorreaIn a huge setback for Internet gambling, California‘s legislature is calling it a day. State Sen. Lou Correa (D) is not only withdrawing his i-gaming bill from consideration, he’s being termed out at the end of the session, so the cause will have to find a new champion. Correa felt, no doubt rightly, that a month was insufficient time to get card rooms and fragmented Native American tribes to the bargaining time and hammer out a consensus.

In the lower house, an i-poker bill by Assemblyman Reginald Jones-Sawyer Sr. (D) is stuck in Committee Hell and unlikely to progress sheldonadelsoneither. “The politics of this aren’t right for this to get rushed through by the end of this year,” gaming law guru I. Nelson Rose told the Los Angeles Times. “The state is so large and there are so many tribes and they don’t agree on anything.” Other setbacks included outside interference by Sheldon Adelson and the conviction of i-poker proponent Sen. Roderick Wright (D) on unrelated felonies.

* Growing from six casinos and racinos to nine, Ohio‘s gaming revenue swelled 28%. Same-store revenues fell 4%, as some cannibalization was felt. Slot revenue was up microscopically at Penn National Gaming‘s Hollywood Casino Columbus, on heavier play but loose hold. Table play was way down, contributing to a flat month. Hollywood Casino Toledo grew 6%, with a strong win/slot/day of $212. Increases in slot hold and table revenue also helped.

Both Caesars Entertainment properties took a dive, with Horseshoe Cleveland down 11% and Horseshoe Cincinnati off 15.5%. That is nothing compared to the feeble performance of Pinnacle Entertainment‘s Belterra Park, averaging only $95/slot/day ($200/day is the industry yardstick).

* Missouri also treaded water, buoyed by a 5% increase in table game Ameristar KC-2revenue. Penn’s Hollywood Casino St. Louis undershot some analyst expectations, posting an 8% decline. Lifted by the removal of Lumiere Place, the Pinnacle portfolio rose 7% on strong performances at Ameristar St. Charles and River City, exceeding estimates. The St. Louis market was up 2% overall. The Kansas City area did not fare so well. The only winner was Ameristar Kansas City, which came in flat. Penn’s Argosy Riverside was off 11%, Isle of Capri Kansas City slipped 3.5% and Harrah’s North Kansas City dropped 3%. Outstate, a couple of riverboats posted double-digit gains: St. Jo Frontier and Isle of Capri Cape Girardeau, both up 10%.

* Melco Crown Entertainment has gotten itself into trouble in Taiwan. The Taipei District Prosecutors Office has indicted the company’s Taiwanese branch “for alleged violations of certain local banking and foreign exchange legislation.” Coming just as James Packer is reentering the U.S. market, the timing is hardly propitious.

This entry was posted in California, Harrah's, International, Internet gambling, Isle of Capri, James Packer, Melco Crown Entertainment, Missouri, Ohio, Penn National, Pinnacle Entertainment, Politics, Regulation, Sheldon Adelson, Tropicana Entertainment. Bookmark the permalink.