Profits were slimmer for International Game Technology in 1Q15, with the company reporting $35 million, 56% less than a year ago. IGT, which is in the process of being acquired by GTECH, offered little commentary on the results. CEO Patti Hart issued a statement that “market challenges remain in the land-based casino business.” However, the company’s social-gaming sector — driven by DoubleDown Casino, up 11% — grew 23%, grossing $91.5 million.
* The former Horizon Casino on the shores of Lake Tahoe, purged of the evil spirit of Columbia Sussex, will reopen today as the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino with the smashing of a guitar made of ice. Ironically, it will not have a Hard Rock Cafe: nearby Harvey’s Lake Tahoe (owned by Caesars Entertainment) already has one. Instead, the Hard Rock will have five other restaurants and 25,000 square feet of gaming space. A number of music acts, including the English Beat, are already scheduled for the Hard Rock’s concert hall, Vinyl.
* “We felt at that time, the timing was right to bet on a Nevada rebound,” Golden Gaming CEO Blake Sartini said of a 2011 deal that saw Golden unload its three Colorado casinos in return for Nevada slot routes and two casinos in bustling Pahrump. Now he thinks it’s the moment to go public, via the acquisition of Lakes Entertainment. The news is 
certainly good for the Las Vegas economy, as Golden will have to staff up to meet the paperwork requirements that will go with being an SEC-scrutinized company. (Sartini says the company fielded up to 50 sales offers before settling upon Lakes.)
Sartini didn’t outline any changes of course for Maryland‘s Rocky Gap Casino, which has been doing extremely well of late. He did, however, hint at pushes into other regional markets. Of his predecessor at Lakes Entertainment, Lyle Berman, Sartini said, “Lyle’s gaming history speaks for itself. He’ll be a tremendous resource. He has a vast network of contacts.” And although Golden already has 7,600 slots and 48 taverns in Nevada, Sartini is not ruling out further Silver State expansion either.
* In a bit of regulatory housekeeping, Gov. Brian Sandoval has reappointed Chairman A.G. Burnett and member Shawn Reid to the Nevada Gaming Control Board. Reid, a 25-year veteran of the NGCB made a name for himself recently by being the only Nevada regulator to oppose the licensure of Sam Nazarian, following revelations of Nazarian’s drug use and tendency to be a patsy for extortionists.
I think the Hard Rock is perfect for South Lake. I hope they do great!