Caesars crashes, burns in Louisiana; DFS takes two steps forward, one back

Despite having an extra weekend day, Louisiana casinos saw revenue fall 7% in July. (JP Morgan analyst Joseph Greff blames flooding for the waterlogged numbers.) Pinnacle Entertainment did the best among major operators, up 4%, while Caesars Entertainment went into the toilet, down 29%, led by a catastrophic 38% plunge at Harrah’s New Orleans ($22.5 million). I don’t think we can blame the smoking ban, a smoke-free Fair Grounds racino was only 4% off its feed ($3 million). Across the river, where you smoke, Boyd Gaming‘s Treasure Chest was up 3% ($9 million) but Pinnacle’s Boomtown New Orleans dipped 5%, still good enough for a $10 million gross. Outlying Boyd properties suffered, with Amelia Belle down 8% ($4 million) and Evangeline Downs slipping 6.5%, to $7 million.

Lake Charles revenues — $85.5 million — almost doubled those in New Orleans. No surprise, L’Auberge du Lac was out front with $34 million and a 7% increase, followed by Golden Nugget, grossing $24 million for a 4% uptick. Newly sold Isle Grand Palais was 6% down, to $12 million. Boyd’s Delta Downs slipped 4%, raking in $16 million. Given its location, Grand Palais really ought to have sold for more than 8% cash flow, casting doubt on the new leadership at Isle. Baton Rouge casinos were dominated by L’Auberge Baton Rouge, up 6.5% to almost $15 million. Straggling along were Tropicana Entertainment‘s Belle of Baton Rouge (-12%, $5 million) and Gaming & Leisure PropertiesHollywood Baton Rouge (-7%, $5 million).

Despite a 17% loss of business, Horseshoe Bossier City led the Shreveport market with a symmetrical $17 million gross. Customers were also avoiding Caesars’ Louisiana Downs, off 11% for a $3.5 million gross. The biggest gainer was Margaritaville, with a 7% increase and a $14 million gross. Eldorado Shreveport was flat, taking in $13 million, while Pinnacle and Boyd suffered mild setbacks: Boomtown Bossier City was down 2% ($5 million) and Sam’s Town Shreveport conceded 4%, grossing $7 million. While the Louisiana market has been ailing of late, the Caesars numbers were so dramatic they must have caused some sticker shock at One Harrah’s Court.

* The Golden Nugget has introduced a new wrinkle into Atlantic City‘s Internet gambling. As you walk to the casino from the parking garage, you’ll pass a glassed-in studio from whence a video feed of live dealers is transmitted to online punters. Ezugi NJ created the infrastructure, which operates for eight hours daily. So far blackjack, roulette and Dragon Bonus Baccarat are the only game offerings but casino owner Tilman Fertitta plans to enlarge the repertory at an unspecified date.

* Internet gambling continues to be one legislative session away in Pennsylvania. Of more pressing concern to casinos, a “temporary” 14% tax on table games (up from 12%) has been raised to a “temporary” 16%. Expect casinos to be livid at Gov. Tom Wolf (D) and rightly so.

* In other Internet-gambling news, Massachusetts solons have given themselves until the middle of next year to codify Attorney General Maura Healey‘s approval of daily fantasy sports into law. Defending the delay, Rep. Joseph Wagner said, “We have dealt with the issue of legality here in the short-term. But I think there has been a sense in the legislature in each branch that we want to take a deeper dive on this.” Meanwhile, Stop Predatory Gambling — which sounds like a Sheldon Adelson front but isn’t — is shilling for plaintiffs to challenge New York State‘s new DFS law in court. (A quirk in the new law, which doesn’t permit betting on individuals, may put NASCAR and professional golf out of DFS players’ reach.) And up in Maine, when lawmakers hear “DFS” they think “tax dollars” but are waiting on an opinion from Attorney General Janet Mills, who sounds mighty conflicted about the whole thing, saying, “It’s fun to, you know, to pretend you are the manager of a gazillion teams, you are going to put this quarterback together with this linebacker … That can be a lot of fun, but when it comes to putting a lot of money at risk and putting your family savings at risk, that’s something that causes me great concern.”

* Photographed from 10,800 feet up in the air, Las Vegas looks at times like a model-train set and often like the world’s largest circuit board.

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