February gaming revenues were 8% higher in Nevada (to $990 million), with a 7% increase on the Las Vegas Strip. Locals-casino revenue rose 11%, driven in part by 4% more coin-in 
and 8% greater table play. Slot revenue on the Strip was 7% higher, helped by 1.5% more coin-in, which helped make up for a flat month of baccarat play. Four percent less was wagered but the house played lucky. The house dominated at other tables, with 5% heavier wagering leading to 13% greater win. Table revenue exclusive of poker was $302 million. Locals lost 10% more at the slots and 23% more at table games.
Downtown had an outstanding month, up 17% (to $51 million), while North Las Vegas rose 13% ($25 million) and the Boulder Strip ($71 million) was up 10%. Miscellaneous Clark County markets added $02.5 million, a 12% upsurge. Laughlin ($43 million) was flat but Reno ($48 million) had a 7% bounce and Lake Tahoe ($16 million) rose 4%. Visitation to Las Vegas was up 5% from last year, driving room rates up 5% and occupancy to 89%. More conventions (20%) meant more conventioneers (10.5%), which was more than enough to offset a 1.5% decline in drive-in business from California. Road traffic didn’t fluctuate much but 9% more passengers deplaned in Las Vegas in February, adding to one of the more impressive months of late.
* For all of Steve Wynn‘s griping about table-game limitations in Macao, things aren’t as bad as he’d have you believe. According to JP Morgan analyst Joseph Greff, Wynn’s Macao casinos have 75 tables they’re not using and which could easily be repurposed to beef up whatever the government allots Wynn Palace. Bearing this in mind, it’s hard to see why Wynn pitched a fit about being told how many table games he could have at his new megaresort.
Opponents of the Tohono O’odham Nation, give it up. You’re 0-for-19 in challenges to the Desert Diamond Casino West Valley and, were this the big leagues, you’d be getting shipped back to the minors. Or, as Arizona Republic columnist EJ Montini wrote, “If this was a fair fight it would have been stopped several round [sic] ago.” Unless by some miracle your case gets heard by the U.S. Supreme Court (unlikely) and SCOTUS rules in your favor (highly unlikely), the verdict of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals marks the end of the road, time to surrender to the Tohono O’odham’s fait accompli and cut a deal that brings you some revenue-sharing. (Desert Diamond is all-Class II and, as such, doesn’t have to cut Arizona in for a dime, although tribal leaders will now start pushing toward Class III status.)
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R, left) seemed to acknowledge that he’s running out of options to 
stave off the inevitable, calling for Congress to revive the moribund Keep the Promise Act. (Very funny: A bunch of white men calling for Native Americans to keep promises.) Mad props to Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D) for undermining the House of Representatives’ version of this travesty. The Ninth Circuit said the state’s argument that Tohono O’odham pulled a fast one by not disclosing their intentions and building outside of their traditional land when they acquired the casino site was “without merit.”
The court further stated, “The Nation’s choice to conduct Class 3 gaming in accordance with the express terms of the compact does not deviate from the agreed common purpose of the compact, and therefore does not breach the implied covenant of good faith and fair 
dealing … The duly-executed compact negotiated at length by sophisticated parties expressly authorizes the Nation to conduct game on its ‘Indian Lands.’ … This language is unambiguous and not reasonably susceptible to plaintiffs’ interpretation that the compact implicitly bars the Nation from gaming in the Phoenix metropolitan area.” (emphasis added) That noise you hear is the Ninth Circuit putting a body slam on Ducey. Furthermore, it said Class III gaming was already permissible on any Tohono O’odham land.
“The world has not ended,” Montini wrote. “It will not end when the casino grows to its full potential. What will, happen, however, is job growth and increased tax revenue.” Noting that other tribal interests were allied with Ducey, Montini also wrote, “I’d guess that if any one of them had been clever enough to build a Desert Diamond Casino West Valley of their own they would have done so in a heartbeat.” Exactly. So the state is trying to haggle Desert Diamond to death by denying it a liquor license (although the tribe holds four others), among other petty actions. It’s time for Ducey to accept defeat with grace and negotiate with the Tohono O’odham as equals.
” why Wynn pitched a fit about being told how many table games he could have at his new megaresort.” Because he’s a Whiner, very successful, but still a Whiner. Always has been.