Penn National Gaming has been rather defensive — and understandably so — about the performance of Plainridge Park, which has seen business steadily decline from month to month. However, Penn reversed the slippage last month, increasing revenues 11%. Penn spent some money to make money, loosening up on promotional outlays to the tune of $2 million (a 32% increase from December). It also tightened the hold on the slots a little bit, too. Penn giveth, Penn taketh away.
The company has been especially prickly about any criticism of the performance of its slots and the amounts it’s making are pretty staggering: $323 slot/day, far more than any other casino for which Penn shares its slot-win numbers. So, no, the sky is not falling. Plainridge Park is here to stay.
* Compared to a robust January 2014, last month’s numbers in Louisiana were anemic, with Lake Charles down 9% and New Orleans off 7%. In the former market, L’Auberge du Lac struggled, falling 8% on a $26 million gross but Golden Nugget Lake Charles had an even harder time of it, falling 18% on revenues of $19 million. Boyd Gaming‘s Delta Downs was flat.
The New Orleans smoking ban continued to make itself felt, with Harrah’s New Orleans diving 14% ($25 million) and Churchill Downs‘ 
Fair Grounds racino ($3.5 million) down 12%. Boyd’s Treasure Chest picked up 4% more business ($8.5 million) and Pinnacle Entertainment‘s Boomtown New Orleans ($9 million) did likewise. In the case of Boyd, it was virtually the lone bright spot in otherwise ‘blah’ performance by its large Pelican State portfolio. Sam’s Town Shreveport swirled down 9%, to $6 million. Tops in the market, with a $17 million and a 7.5% increase was Horseshoe Bossier. Newcomer Margaritaville ($12 million) elbowed past Eldorado Shreveport for the #2 spot in the Shreveport-Bossier City area.
* Ignoring all evidence to the contrary, Caesars Entertainment CEO Mark Frissora proclaims “Our business is outperforming all of our publicly traded competitors and our own expectations, particularly in Las Vegas.” Sorry, Mr. Frissora but that one doesn’t even pass the laugh test, especially when your Atlantic City portfolio is tanking. Unfortunately, most of his interview is boilerplate and, as such, better than Sominex. When asked about the restatement of earnings from his tenure at Hertz, this is what Frissora has to offer, “I am excited and focused on the opportunity to lead Caesars through its next great phase of growth and transformation.” Yes, a worthy successor to Gary Loveman truly has been found.
