For all the hoopla about the (fixed?) Mayweather-Pacquiao fight, Strip gaming revenues sent mixed signals. The game that matters most, baccarat, saw somewhat less play (-7%) but the house got beaten badly, 
its winnings down 36%. By contrast, all other table games saw 23% more volume and revenue. Slot coin-in was up 6% but here luck was with the house, which saw 12% higher winnings. Concluded J.P. Morgan analyst Joseph Greff, “Overall, we continue to think that LV Strip can generate low to mid-single RevPAR and visitation growth, though given a likely slowdown in Chinese players, we expect the market to continue to experiencing volatility in baccarat play.”
While the Strip only saw 1% growth overall, locals play generated an 8% revenue gain. Downtown leapt 15%, while the Boulder Strip casinos rose 10% and North Las Vegas posted a 15% gain. The rest of Clark County was up 5%. Further out, both Laughlin and Reno were 1.5% ahead of last year but the presence of a newly Hard Rock-branded casino could help Lake Tahoe from dipping 7%. All was well in Elko and the Carson Valley, up 10% and 8% respectively.
* There’s quite a thirst for gambling in Massachusetts, as evinced by the 10,000 patrons who swarmed Plainridge Park during its first 18 hours of operation. It’s sweet vindication not just for Penn National Gaming but for casino advocates like Robert DeLeo who spent years diligently pushing toward yesterday’s entry of the Bay State into gaming territory. Penn expects the initial frenzy to last through the Fourth of July weekend, then normalize.
In good news for Connecticut‘s tribal casinos, but bad for everyone else, MGM Resorts International requested a one-year postponement in opening MGM Springfield. The Massachusetts Gaming Commission has to sign off on the request, weighing the 
loss of $125 million in projected tax revenues against MGM’s concerns about the completion of the I-91 viaduct (its lifeline to Hartford) and the traffic congestion will occur before it is finished. “From the public point of view, the decision is unnerving because acceptance of the casino has come largely with the understanding that it would keep all of its promises. To this point, MGM has done just that,” editorialized the Springfield Republican, before endorsing the delay with great reluctance. At least Springfield stands to collect $4 million in compensation for the delay, which got Mayor Domenic Sarno on board.
* Casinos in Atlantic City had to give up something — the ability to appeal property-tax assessments — in return for fiscal certainty. The New Jersey state senate voted through an elaborate package of bills to 
help the Boardwalk. Most critical among these is one that guarantees casinos 15 years of fixed payments in lieu of taxes. The tab will be $150 million apiece for the first two years, $120 million for each of the remaining 13 years. The new scheme means that Bally’s Wild Wild West will pay $2.6 million more, but Caesars Entertainment will more than make that back in $20 million annual tax reduction for Caesars Atlantic City and Harrah’s Resort.
Other measures approved in Trenton were the cannibalization of the Atlantic City Alliance and its $30 million budget, as well as the redirection of CRDA funds from infrastructure improvements into retiring Atlantic City’s deficit. One bitter pill casino owners may have to swallow is the reduction of proposed ’boutique casinos’ from 500 to 200 hotel rooms. The industry opposes it but the Senate has sent it to the House for approval.
* VictoryLand won an equivocal judgment in court this week. While Judge William Shashy refrained from opining on the legality of electronic bingo in Alabama, he said the state can’t shut down some operations — like VictoryLand — while turning a blind eye to others. This means Attorney General Luther Strange will have to return 1,615 VLTs and $260,000 in cash that was seized in a raid two years ago.
Accusing the state of “cherrypicking” enforcement of the laws, Shashy wrote, “Allowing unequal treatment places the court in an untenable position.” Strange, meanwhile, was left scratching his head as to why the legality of e-bingo wasn’t addressed. VictoryLand owner Milton McGregor plans to reopen at the first opportunity.
