Nightclubs looking for the next big thing to keep record-setting crowds comingBy Laura Carroll, Las Vegas Business Press • April 7, 2014The next big thing is coming, Las Vegas. At least, that’s what nightlife guru Jon Taffer said while getting ready for his annual Nightclub & Bar Show to open in late March. During an interview with the Las Vegas Business… [continue reading]
Fluttering in the British IslesBy Ken Adams • April 6, 2014Gambling in England is not like it is in the United States. American gaming is governed by individual states and not by federal regulation, while gambling in England is regulated by the national government. And because of the difference, gambling… [continue reading]
Tribe’s Talking Stick Resort wields powerful economic cloutBy Howard Stutz, Las Vegas Review-Journal • April 6, 2014The Salt River-Pima Indian Community has a real estate footprint in this city, 20 minutes east of downtown Phoenix, that makes the 67-acre CityCenter look like a strip mall. The tribe has built a “cultural and entertainment destination.” There is… [continue reading]
What Has Sheldon wrought?By Jeffrey Compton • April 2, 2014While working on the Flash last Tuesday morning, I came upon the opinion piece “Las Vegas made a big, bad bet on casinos” – one of the nastiest anti-Las Vegas (and anti-gaming) commentaries I have read in a very long… [continue reading]
The Casino Industry’s Worst Nightmare – the FedsBy Ken Adams • March 31, 2014Over the course of my career, I have watched the casino industry fight and lose more than one battle with the federal government. The first battle I remember was over silver dollars; it hardly seems believable today, but at one… [continue reading]
As megaresort trend fades, companies focus on luxury in ‘small’ settingsBy Howard Stutz, Las Vegas Business Press • March 31, 2014Las Vegas is getting smaller. That is, if you call 1,600-room and 1,100-room Strip hotels “boutique” properties. By the end of the year, Las Vegas will have about a half-dozen hotel-casinos that operators classify as “boutique,” “luxury” or “lifestyle” in… [continue reading]
Nightclub and Bar Convention and Trade Show leaves one Shaken and StirredBy Christopher G. Axelrod • March 31, 2014The 29th Annual Nightclub and Bar Convention and Trade Show poured it on in style at the Las Vegas Convention Center. There was something for every interest and beyond. Jon Taffer, Executive Producer and Star of Spike TV’s popular show… [continue reading]
INSIDE GAMING: Internet gaming giant tries againBy Howard Stutz, Las Vegas Review-Journal • March 30, 2014ou have to hand it to online gaming giant PokerStars. Despite setback after setback, the Europe-based company won’t give up on its quixotic quest to break into the fledgling U.S. Internet gaming market. After failing in Nevada and New Jersey,… [continue reading]
Ohio Casino Education Funds: Easy Money That’s More Than ZeroBy Jeffrey Compton • March 26, 2014Over the past month I have been reading negative articles about Ohio casinos, specifically about the distribution of casino tax dollars to local school systems. Counting on casino revenue? Local governments told it’s risky Casinos fall short of vows to… [continue reading]
Massachusetts: Ensuring the Nation’s “Best” and Most Rigorous RegulationsBy Ken Adams • March 26, 2014Massachusetts came late to the gambling game. Actually, Massachusetts is not quite there yet; it is still in the process of getting into the game. The fact that Massachusetts is so late entering into casino gaming might lead one to… [continue reading]
Analysts wary of market-share erosion for slot maker IGTBy Howard Stutz, Las Vegas Business Press • March 24, 2014There is a target on the back of slot machine manufacturer International Game Technology. Despite first-quarter results that were well received by investors, at least two analysts raised concerns in recent weeks that IGT could be bleeding away slot machine… [continue reading]
Are Casino Comps a Dying Breed?By Jean Scott • March 23, 2014Back in 1995, the news crew of 48 Hours followed Brad and me around Las Vegas, filming as we played video poker and reaped comps. On the air, Dan Rather dubbed me the “Queen of Comps”. By then I had… [continue reading]
INSIDE GAMING: Fattest fines have come in a flurryBy Howard Stutz, Las Vegas Review-Journal • March 23, 2014Million-dollar fines for violating Nevada gaming law used to be rare. But in the past 15 months, state casino regulators have accepted three separate seven-figure payments from gaming companies to settle Gaming Control Board disciplinary complaints. That’s the same number… [continue reading]
Does Gaming have an Older Audience or an Aging Audience?By Jeffrey Compton • March 20, 2014Last week I ended my column on senior gaming with “I do admit to being concerned that nearly half the casino visitors in 2012 are over age 50. I’m not concerned for the visitors, but for the casinos and the… [continue reading]
Making Up a Story Helps Make Sense of The ConfusionBy Ken Adams • March 19, 2014It is never easy to understand a complicated issue and the gaming industry in the 21st century has certainly become complicated and confusing, at least for me. To help myself understand gaming and other things I put Adams Daily Report… [continue reading]
Revenue from Macau casinos enriches industry’s billionairesBy Howard Stutz, Las Vegas Business Press • March 17, 2014It’s been eight years since Macau surpassed the Strip in annual gaming revenue. So it makes sense that the region — the only location in China with casinos — is creating more gaming industry billionaires than Las Vegas. The recently… [continue reading]
Loyalty, love for JackieBy John L. Smith, Las Vegas Review-Journal • March 16, 2014New visitors to the El Cortez some years ago would have been forgiven for failing to spot the owner of the downtown casino. He wasn’t a fresh-faced CEO or a consummate corporate type with an MBA. On the contrary. He… [continue reading]
INSIDE GAMING: Boyd deal sparks torrent of speculationBy Howard Stutz, Las Vegas Review-Journal • March 16, 2014A New York-based hedge fund acquired a 5 percent ownership stake in Boyd Gaming Corp. last week and immediately fueled rampant speculation in the investment community. Scenarios ranged from a corporate takeover to moving the company’s casinos into a real… [continue reading]
Exploring (and Exploding) the Senior Citizen Gambling Myth with Aunt DorothyBy Jeffrey Compton • March 13, 2014Earlier this week the Concord Monitor ran a column by Paul Davis, an anti-gaming advocate at the Institute for American Values, entitled “My turn: Casinos prey on elderly residents”. The column discussed an elderly New Hampshire widow who moved to… [continue reading]
US online gaming ban dispute hits the entertainment industryBy Aaron Stanley • March 12, 2014Holders of music, film and television copyrights are on the verge of becoming victims of US prohibitions on online play. After a decade-long trade dispute over remote online gaming, the small Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda is now planning… [continue reading]
Beacher’s Madhouse (MGM Grand): Too much of a MadhouseBy Christopher G. Axelrod • March 9, 2014Since their public opening at the MGM Grand Resort and Casino early last January I had been reading and hearing a variety of reviews about Jeff Beacher’s Madhouse so I finally decided to purchase my general admission ticket online and… [continue reading]
INSIDE GAMING: Caesars’ moves don’t ease Street’s debt worriesBy Howard Stutz, Las Vegas Review-Journal • March 8, 2014Nothing is simple when it comes to Caesars Entertainment Corp. Take last week’s announcement that the company is selling four casinos to its Caesars Growth Partners subsidiary for $2.2 billion. Some analysts worried the deal would diminish the parent company’s… [continue reading]
Indian Gaming: A Tale of Treaties and TimeBy Ken Adams • March 6, 2014Indian gaming is twenty-six years old and for all of that time, its existence has been contentious. That is not surprising as the entire history of Indian tribes with the federal and state governments has been contentious. Popular myth tells… [continue reading]
AGA’s Engagement with FinCENBy Geoff Freeman, President and CEO of the American Gaming Association • March 5, 2014The U.S. Department of Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), as many of you are aware, has increased its interest in the gaming industry’s compliance with federal anti-money laundering laws, which ensure the integrity of gaming and keep illicit funds… [continue reading]
The Lion’s Share: A Grand Ghost Goes ExtinctBy Ken Adams • March 3, 2014In 1994, one evening and late into the night during the annual gaming show, I was walking the floor of the MGM Grand. I was tired and wanted to go to bed, but could not resist exploring just one more… [continue reading]
Big rewards in China create flexibility for MGM ResortsBy Howard Stutz, Las Vegas Business Press • March 3, 2014MGM Resorts International is showing investors what a 51 percent ownership stake in its publicly traded Chinese subsidiary means financially to the casino operator’s business back home. At least $320 million this month alone. The figure is MGM Resorts’ share… [continue reading]
INSIDE GAMING: Latest push for casino expansion in Florida brings little reaction from gaming interestsBy Howard Stutz, Las Vegas Review-Journal • March 2, 2014Florida is back in play, but no one really seems to care. Last month, legislation was unveiled that could bring Las Vegas-style casinos to South Florida — one each for Miami-Dade and Broward counties. Local voters in both communities would… [continue reading]
Steve Wynn or Mohegan Sun in Massachusetts?By Ken Adams • February 28, 2014On February 25th, voters in Revere approved Mohegan Sun’s plan to build a $1.3 billion resort at Suffolk Downs. Voter approval is one of the most important steps in the Massachusetts casino license process and this vote is particularly important. … [continue reading]
Mt. Gox Meltdown Speeds Day When Bitcoin Will DieBy Megan McArdle, Bloomberg View • February 25, 2014(Bloomberg) — The first thing to point out about the meltdown of the Mt. Gox Bitcoin exchange is that this is hardly the first time that massive amounts of currency have been stolen, or that a financial firm has shut… [continue reading]
The story of pari-mutuel betting in the US: Saving horse racingBy Artur Loss • February 24, 2014The run-up to the Kentucky Derby 2014, which is on the 4th of May this year, began on Saturday the 2nd of February with the Risen Star Stakes at Fair Grounds in New Orleans and the Fountain of Youth Stakes… [continue reading]
Prohibition not the right answer for online gamingBy David G. Schwartz, Special to the Las Vegas Review-Journal • February 24, 2014The nation faces a dangerously seductive form of gambling, as cross-border, high tech telecommunications networks threaten to siphon money out of homes across the country. The problem is getting worse, and the states, with the constitutional mandate to regulate gambling… [continue reading]
Online Gaming: Lots of raving, but little revenueBy Howard Stutz, Las Vegas Review-Journal • February 23, 2014Lost in the heated rhetoric over the expansion of Internet gaming is a harsh reality. Legal online wagering has not been the financial windfall many analysts predicted. Initial returns from the three states that enacted Internet gambling laws are not… [continue reading]
Is the Internet Ready for Casino Gambling? An alternative view!By Jeffrey Compton • February 20, 2014In his recent commentary Is the Internet Ready for Casino Gambling?, my colleague Ken Adams discussed the recent history of Internet Gaming. He also discussed recent incidents of Internet hacking, primarily to the Las Vegas Sands website but also to… [continue reading]
Is the Internet Ready for Casino Gambling?By Ken Adams • February 19, 2014The internet gambling story gets more interesting by the day. For the last few years, internet gambling has been mostly a side story. It was important, but not a dynamic story; not much happened from day to day or even… [continue reading]
The AGA 2014 Strategic Plan: Addressing Criticisms, Belaying Myths, and Creating a Positive RoadmapBy Jeffrey Compton • February 17, 2014I heard from many people after my recent column, “The Internet Gaming War: A Pox (Mostly) on One House”, including Geoff Freeman, president and CEO of the American Gaming Association, who was criticized in the piece. “I largely agree” emailed… [continue reading]
The Las Vegas Sands Website Attack – Random Thoughts and Definite PlansBy Jeffrey Compton • February 16, 2014As I write this column the Las Vegas Sands website has been down for six days. Over those days a plethora of ideas has gone through my head – plus some decisions about emergency planning for my very small business…. [continue reading]
Inside Gaming: Scorn troopers sow fear of Net betsBy Howard Stutz, Las Vegas Review-Journal • February 16, 2014If there’s one thing we learned from last week’s telephone press conference by the Coalition to Stop Internet Gambling it’s that all five speakers “were honored” to be on the 45-minute call. They said so, several times. That, and Internet… [continue reading]
Jeff Civillico Comedy In Action – The Quad, Las VegasBy Christopher G. Axelrod • February 13, 2014Publishers note: We have received several requests that CDC Gaming Reports carry more casino entertainment-related commentary. As neither Ken Adams nor I live in Las Vegas (nor are either of us really qualified), I asked Chris Axelrod, a long-time friend… [continue reading]
Atlantic City Finally Got Some Good NewsBy Ken Adams • February 12, 2014It has been a really cold winter this year and the weather is affecting gaming revenues all over the country. Pennsylvania, Ohio, Missouri, New York and Indiana all reported lower year-over-year gaming revenues in January and each blamed the cold… [continue reading]
The Internet Gaming War: A Pox (Mostly) on One HouseBy Jeffrey Compton • February 12, 2014When I started writing this column, a day or so ago, I was lamenting the current “state of war” over internet gaming. Monday the AP published Gambling industry fights self on Internet gambling; on Tuesday the Financial Times did a… [continue reading]
Prominent women in gaming to discuss industryBy Howard Stutz, Las Vegas Business Press • February 10, 2014Patricia Becker holds the distinction of being the first woman to serve on the Nevada Gaming Control Board. She’s actually the only woman to ever hold a seat on the regulatory panel. Twenty years have passed since then-Gov. Richard Bryan… [continue reading]
Long-time friendship helped attorney break into sports lawBy Howard Stutz, Las Vegas Review-Journal • February 9, 2014A childhood friendship that continued through college helped attorney Robert Caldwell break into sports law. On the surface, it might not appear to be a major field of law in Nevada. The state isn’t home to a professional major league… [continue reading]
INSIDE GAMING: Who wants ties to that guy?By Howard Stutz, Las Vegas Review-Journal • February 9, 2014Clearly, Caesars Entertainment Corp. doesn’t want visitors to The Cromwell to gamble, drink, smoke, fornicate or perform any other sinful act at the newly renamed boutique Strip hotel-casino. I can’t wait to hear the marketing campaign. Why else would the… [continue reading]
Florida: It is about time!By Ken Adams • February 6, 2014The gaming debate is back on in Florida; it debate took a two year hiatus. It is about time it came back, we need something exciting to follow. For far too long, Massachusetts has dominated the expansion narrative in the… [continue reading]
Mr. Wynn’s Internet Gaming Turnaround?By Jeffrey Compton • February 4, 2014Monday was the busiest day in the history of the CDC Gaming Reports website. Fueled by interest in the Super Bowl over 1,400 people visited the site – with over 2,300 page views. However it was two other stories that… [continue reading]
Macau feels strain during Lunar holiday influxBy Kelvin Chan, Associated Press • February 4, 2014MACAU (AP) – In a scene from the James Bond movie “Skyfall,” the British superspy arrives in Macau aboard a small raft that glides under an arched bridge, past hundreds of floating paper lanterns and through an illuminated dragon head… [continue reading]
In talks over keeping National Finals Rodeo, Orlando, Dallas never had a chanceBy Howard Stutz, Las Vegas Review-Journal • February 2, 2014Did you seriously think Las Vegas was going to lose the National Finals Rodeo to Orlando, Fla., or Dallas? After six weeks of back-and-forth rhetoric, a new 10-year agreement was announced Jan. 24 to keep the NFR in Las Vegas… [continue reading]
A recovery for European casinos?By Davide Tedesco • January 31, 2014The European Casino Association (ECA) represents the interests of approximately 800 companies operating in 23 EU countries, with more than 55,000 employees. In November 2013, ECA issued its first comprehensive report on the casino industry in Europe, using information provided… [continue reading]
Cromwell??By Jeffrey Compton • January 31, 2014On Friday Caesars Entertainment announced the newest new name for the property formerly known as Bill’s and before then formerly known as the Barbary Coast. They were going to name it Gansevoort Las Vegas due to a marketing partnership with… [continue reading]
Gaming industry should be careful about embracing digital currenciesBy Aaron Stanley • January 31, 2014One of the hottest trends in 2013 was the soaring popularity of digital currencies such as Bitcoin. These decentralized tenders, backed by no government fiat or central bank, are starting to become viable means of exchange. Last week, two Las… [continue reading]
A Royal Dumb Flush is a Losing HandBy Ken Adams • January 30, 2014In the 21st century, poker has become big business. It is played online, in casinos and in free standing poker rooms. Poker has been played in this country for a very long time. Poker has had a checkered past; it… [continue reading]
Why I’m Attending ICE Totally Gaming This YearBy Victor Rocha, Pechanga.net • January 28, 2014When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by Congress in 1988, nobody could’ve predicted the opulent casinos of today rising from the bingo parlors ofthat era. In our wildest dreams, we couldn’t have imaginedIndian gamingas a $28+ billion-dollar industry. And as… [continue reading]
Assessing ImpactBy Ken Adams • January 27, 2014Impact is one of my favorite typefaces – because it delivers on its promise – it has an instant impact on the reader. But Impact is fast becoming much more than a typeface for me. Impact is becoming the dominant… [continue reading]
Gaming companies have lucrative deals operating Indian casinosBy Howard Stutz, Las Vegas Business Press • January 26, 2014New casino development in Las Vegas is on lockdown. Gaming expansion into states beyond recently approved markets is virtually nonexistent. Those are two reasons regional casino giant and M Resort owner Penn National Gaming struck a deal with a San… [continue reading]
Does Gaming hurt the Arts?By Jeffrey Compton • January 26, 2014In recent months CDC Gaming Reports has run several news stories and one commentary expressing the fear that a casino expansion could hurt a region’s performing arts. Since I have a personal and professional interest in both gaming and the… [continue reading]
INSIDE GAMING: Casinos in Japan? Bet your last yen on itBy Howard Stutz, Las Vegas Review-Journal • January 25, 2014It’s game on, Japan. Word leaked out this past week that two Nevada casino companies have made inroads with Japanese officials to build a nearly $5 billion hotel-casino in Osaka. Now other gaming operators have their corporate jets pointed toward… [continue reading]
From Saratoga Springs: Thanks, but no thanksBy Steve Grandin • January 22, 2014There are undoubtedly cities in New York that can benefit from a casino. Saratoga Springs, however, is not one of them. In 2013, the State of New York decided that a quick way to fill its fiscal coffers was to… [continue reading]
Cuomo Does Not Plan to Let any Grass Grow under His FeetBy Ken Adams • January 21, 2014It is budget time in New York and gaming is in the budget. Governor Andrew Cuomo’s budget proposal anticipates casinos opening by January of 2015. There is no time to waste, the state needs the tax money those casinos will… [continue reading]
Buffett’s $1 Billion Bet on NCAA PerfectionBy Kavitha A. Davidson, Bloomberg View • January 21, 2014Jan. 21 (Bloomberg) — Warren Buffett’s company has made a $1 billion bet on something most of us already assume to be true: It’s impossible to pick the perfect bracket for the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. Berkshire Hathaway has insured… [continue reading]
Several gaming companies expected to have a good yearBy Howard Stutz, Las Vegas Business Press • January 20, 2014With a new year comes new prognostications by Wall Street on which gaming companies will provide investors the best return in 2014. Not surprisingly, Las Vegas Sands Corp., Wynn Resorts Ltd. and MGM Resorts International lead the pack. The three… [continue reading]
Reflections of a Newly Minted 59-year-oldBy Jeffrey Compton • January 19, 2014I am 59 years old today – and could not be more thrilled. And in six months I expect to be telling folks that I am “going on 60” because I like the sound of that. I have never been… [continue reading]
INSIDE GAMING: $5.5 million fine keeps CG (formerly Cantor Gaming) aliveBy Howard Stutz, Las Vegas Review-Journal • January 18, 2014There is a reason officials from CG Technology (formerly Cantor Gaming) said they were “glad to have reached a resolution” with Nevada gaming regulators and will pay the largest fine ever leveled against a casino or affiliated company. The Las… [continue reading]
The End of Two Boardwalk EmpiresBy Ken Adams • January 12, 2014It is being reported that HBO has decided to stop producing Boardwalk Empire after its fifth season. The HBO series was based the book Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times, and Corruption of Atlantic City by Nelson Johnson. It is… [continue reading]
INSIDE GAMING: Gaming lobby unifies messageBy Howard Stutz, Las Vegas Review-Journal • January 11, 2014The collegiality developed within the gaming industry as casino companies weathered the economic downturn has evaporated. Opposing opinions are healthy to any debate, especially when the topics include casino expansion into new markets and the potential state-by-state rollout of Internet… [continue reading]
It was Cold in Ohio, Really, Really Cold…By Ken Adams • January 8, 2014How cold was it? It was cold enough for two casinos to close; that is the good news. The bad news is worse; casino revenues in December dropped faster than the temperatures in January. As everyone in the world knows,… [continue reading]
INSIDE GAMING: Sunny days may be ahead for MGM Resorts (LVRJ)By Howard Stutz, Las Vegas Review-Journal • January 5, 2014In a recent research note, J.P. Morgan gaming analyst Joe Greff said MGM Resorts International offers “fresh ideas” for stock investors exploring their options in the new year. And that was before the casino company cleared several giant hurdles in… [continue reading]
Adelson Trying to Bend it Like BeckhamBy Ken Adams • January 1, 2014Sheldon Adelson is not the most popular person in the industry. He is said to be a very harsh manager, a very demanding negotiator and very critical of his competitors – but with his very high profile he is difficult… [continue reading]
2013 was a good year – and may 2014 be even better!By Jeffrey Compton • December 30, 2013Both personally and professionally, I am happy to look back on 2013 as a very good year, and look forward to a better one in 2014. This year CDC Gaming Reports increased our website traffic by 325%, continued our collaboration… [continue reading]
With National Harbor decision, battle for Washington DC casino market enters newest phaseBy Aaron Stanley • December 25, 2013Last week, in a widely anticipated decision, Maryland authorities awarded MGM Resorts the state’s sixth and final casino license. MGM will use that to build a massive Vegas-style facility at National Harbor, just south of Washington, DC. While the decision… [continue reading]
Killing the Goose that Lays the Golden EggsBy Ken Adams • December 24, 2013In the last twenty-five years, many states have discovered that when properly managed legalized gambling can be a golden egg laying goose. The states have had many options from which to choose: lotteries, casinos, slot machines, poker, sports betting, bingo,… [continue reading]
Welcome to the 2014 AGABy Geoff Freeman, President and CEO of the American Gaming Association • December 23, 2013The American Gaming Association – which has ably protected the gaming industry for 18 years – is expanding its focus to become the greatest advocate for gaming that the industry has seen. As demonstrated by our recent additions to the… [continue reading]
INSIDE GAMING: Customer panel praises IGTBy Howard Stutz, Las Vegas Review-Journal • December 21, 2013Rather than having only International Game Technology executives tout the company’s products to the investment community, the company put its customers on the hot seat. The move could have backfired. But it didn’t. Several analysts attending IGT’s annual Investor Day… [continue reading]
A Billion Dollar Christmas Present – No Laughing MatterBy Ken Adams • December 18, 2013If you haven’t heard some version of this as a joke, you probably will: “How sad, I will not get a billion dollars for Christmas this year or even half a billion. I had my hopes; I owned 50 percent… [continue reading]
GAMING LOOK AHEAD: Remakes of properties, work on Resorts World expected to enliven Strip in ’14By Howard Stutz, Las Vegas Business Press • December 16, 2013The biggest gaming story of 2014 might be a 2016 or a 2017 event. Malaysia-based Genting Group is expected to begin construction sometime in 2014 on the $2 billion-to-$7 billion Resorts World Las Vegas, returning construction activity to the 87-acre… [continue reading]
INSIDE GAMING: SLS Las Vegas aims to avoid Cosmo’s mistakesBy Howard Stutz, Las Vegas Review-Journal • December 14, 2013Much has been speculated about the business model for SLS Las Vegas. Los Angeles-based SBE Entertainment is spending $415 million to transform the Rat Pack-era Sahara into a stylish, ultramodern hotel, bringing to the Strip amenities closely associated with Hollywood… [continue reading]
Reno is Heading Down a New Path – Will Others Follow?By Ken Adams • December 11, 2013One of the ways we measure the health of the casino industry and track its trends is with the monthly casino/gaming revenue; each state with casinos releases the monthly revenue numbers separately and in different formats. The state reports paint… [continue reading]
AGA introduces new Community Impact videoBy Geoff Freeman, President & CEO, American Gaming Association • December 9, 2013Across the country, the gaming industry is making communities better – creating jobs, generating opportunities for local suppliers, increasing tourism and giving back through volunteerism and philanthropy. While none of this is a surprise to those who work in the… [continue reading]
Mixed results for East Coast Internet gaming rolloutsBy Howard Stutz, Las Vegas Business Press • December 9, 2013If his gaming analyst job doesn’t work out, Brian McGill could try winning a seat in the Main Event at the World Series of Poker. At least the Internet version. In late November, McGill, who follows publicly traded casino companies… [continue reading]
So sorry, Mr. Poster, your plug’s been pulledBy Howard Stutz, Las Vegas Review-Journal • December 7, 2013If Tim Poster’s suitability hearing in front of Nevada gaming regulators had been filmed for reality television, it might have saved that awful “The Casino” series he and business partner Tom Breitling had when they owned the Golden Nugget in… [continue reading]
Apology to the Oneida Casino in WISCONSINBy Jeffrey Compton • December 6, 2013I ‘ve always received straight A’s in history, but for some reason could barely pass Geography – it has never been my topic. In last Thursday’s Flash when writing about their $28 Million expansion I accidentally moved the Oneida Casino… [continue reading]
Q&A with Dennis Mathews, operations manager for Red Rock LanesBy Howard Stutz, Las Vegas Business Press • December 3, 2013Dennis Mathews, 44, picked up his first bowling ball at age 8 and has spent most of his life in a bowling center. He wouldn’t have it any other way. Mathews, who has operated the 72-lane Red Rock Lanes inside… [continue reading]
Valid reasons to oppose Internet gamblingBy Sheldon G. Adelson, Special to the Las Vegas Review-Journal • December 1, 2013Howard Stutz’s Nov. 24 column (“Look out, Net bets, Adelson’s after you”) employed a medieval practice used to avoid confronting unpopular positions. When you can’t defend the message, attack the messenger. The truth is I am not alone in my… [continue reading]
INSIDE GAMING: No mixed signals, no more Macau licensesBy Howard Stutz, Las Vegas Review-Journal • December 1, 2013Anyone trying decipher subliminal messages from the early November policy address by Macau’s top government official would have an easier time determining whether the Beatles were secretly telling us Paul was dead through the “Abbey Road” album cover. Both ideas… [continue reading]
A New Beginning for the (original) Venice Casino?By Davide Tedesco • November 29, 2013In September 2013, the City Council of Venice agreed to privatize the operation of the city’s two gaming sites. The company which will run the world’s oldest casino is to selected by the end of this year, by a public… [continue reading]
Grand Theft Auto is Entering the Gambling GameBy Ken Adams • November 28, 2013It is no secret; the cat is out of the bag. Online casino gaming has officially arrived. New Jersey’s entry into online gaming kicked off a new era for the gaming industry. Granted, Nevada and Delaware both began online gaming… [continue reading]
Bloomberg View: Internet Gambling Deserves a Chance to Make It NationwideBy • November 27, 2013In a victory for fun, liberty and sound fiscal policy, New Jersey will tomorrow let most of its residents gamble online. All Americans should be so (dare we say it?) lucky. New Jersey is the third state, after Delaware and… [continue reading]
Say what you will, Adelson is right on web gamblingBy Steve Sebelius, Las Vegas Review-Journal • November 26, 2013Of all the things that have been said recently about Las Vegas Sands CEO Sheldon Adelson’s crusade against online gambling, there’s one missing: He’s right. That’s a far, far different thing from saying he’ll succeed in getting a federal ban… [continue reading]
INSIDE GAMING: Adelson faces steep odds in campaign to roll back Internet gamblingBy Howard Stutz, Las Vegas Review-Journal • November 24, 2013Earlier this summer, Sheldon Adelson told those nasty little Internet gaming punks to get off his lawn. Now, he thinks they egged his house. As payback, the chairman and CEO of Las Vegas Sands Corp. says he’ll put online gaming… [continue reading]
Second Thoughts on the Incredibly Slow Process in MassachusettsBy Ken Adams • November 20, 2013It has been two years since the enabling casino gaming legislation passed in Massachusetts and nothing has happened. That is not exactly accurate as lots has happened, but no casinos have been built. In fact none have been licensed. The… [continue reading]
Remembering the shock, fifty years laterBy Jeffrey Compton • November 19, 2013I was eight years old, in the third grade – and about to begin a rare Friday afternoon off from school, because there was teacher conferences at Adrian Elementary that day. I was playing with a friend on the third… [continue reading]
GAMING INSIDER: Smiles abound with Scientific Games-WMS merger closedBy Howard Stutz, Las Vegas Business Press • November 18, 2013The marriage between lottery provider Scientific Games Corp. and slot machine manufacturer WMS Industries is still in the honeymoon phase. The $1.5 billion merger, in which the smaller New York-based lottery company acquired the casino industry’s third-largest manufacturer, was completed… [continue reading]
INSIDE GAMING: Foreign deals can include risks (LVRJ)By Howard Stutz, Las Vegas Review-Journal • November 16, 2013Payoffs to government officials typically don’t show up on the balance sheets of U.S. gaming companies. That the accounting practice is commonplace in some countries was a reason Penn National Gaming rejected expansion into Asia. In a speech Nov. 8… [continue reading]
A casino on Martha’s Vineyard? “No Way”By Jeffrey Compton • November 15, 2013I’ve never been to Martha’s Vineyard. When I read that the Wampanoag Tribe of Aquinnah had said they had Federal approval to put a casino on the island, I wasn’t sure what to think. So I called the person, from… [continue reading]
And They’re Off! (and running ’til November 2016)By Ken Adams • November 13, 2013Horse racing is probably a bad analogy for an election, but it paints the right picture for the moment. According to the British bookie, William Hill, the 2016 campaign for president of the United States has officially begun with the… [continue reading]
INSIDE GAMING: Culinary’s futile effort against the Cosmopolitan (LVRJ)By Howard Stutz, Las Vegas Review-Journal • November 10, 2013The only Sin City video getting more hits on the Internet than the Culinary union’s recent taunting and name-calling of people entering The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas was the 2011 clip of Batman getting body-slammed on the Strip by a… [continue reading]
Gaming industry pushes for Congressional crackdown on patent “trolls”By Aaron Stanley • November 8, 2013Patent reform is not a subject matter typically associated with casino gaming, but industry heavyweights are throwing their weight behind bipartisan congressional proposals to crack down on abusive litigation by patent “trolls”. The American Gaming Association, in conjunction with are… [continue reading]
Four Predictions in today’s gaming-related electionsBy Jeffrey Compton • November 5, 2013If Jeffrey Compton would ever be accused of promoting gambling it won’t be over blackjack, horse racing, sports betting or even video poker; my weakness and joy is election wagering. Today’s is an off-year election with only two governorships up,… [continue reading]
Nevada online poker websites still in their infancyBy Howard Stutz, Las Vegas Business Press • November 4, 2013It’s unfair to compare Nevada’s adolescent Internet poker market to the pre-Black Friday online poker world that existed in the U.S. a few years ago. On a good day, the state’s two currently operating real money poker websites — UltimatePoker.com… [continue reading]
Court’s tip for Steve Wynn: No need to apologizeBy John L. Smith, Las Vegas Review-Journal • November 3, 2013It took some time, but Steve Wynn got what he wanted. In overruling a District Court judge who only appeared to have Nevada statute on his side, the state Supreme Court on Thursday released its unanimous decision that the mandatory… [continue reading]
INSIDE GAMING: Bay State blunders: Massachusetts now an embarrassment on gaming sceneBy Howard Stutz, Las Vegas Review-Journal • November 3, 2013Two years ago, Massachusetts was considered a potentially lucrative gaming opportunity. The past two weeks, however, have called into question the viability of the Bay State’s incubating casino market. Massachusetts is moving ahead with a single Las Vegas-style casino in… [continue reading]
An Update on Casino Gaming Expansion on the East CoastBy Ken Adams • October 29, 2013The casino gaming news these days is filled with stories of expansion. Florida, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Hampshire, New York and Pennsylvania all have expansion on their radar screens. New Hampshire is working on new regulations as a prelude to expansion… [continue reading]
Boom time in Macau continues to buoy Las Vegas SandsBy Howard Stutz, Las Vegas Business Press • October 27, 2013The Venetian and Palazzo on the Strip provided Las Vegas Sands Corp. with somewhat lackluster revenues in the third quarter. Wall Street didn’t give the results much attention. Macau is what drives Las Vegas Sands. In the three months ended… [continue reading]
INSIDE GAMING: Caesars Entertainment’s terrible, horrible, no good and very bad weekend (LVRJ)By Howard Stutz, Las Vegas Review-Journal • October 27, 2013Has there ever been a gaming company that suffered through a worse 72-hour period than Caesars Entertainment Corp.? On a Friday evening, Caesars was punted from a proposed $1 billion project in Boston. Then the company was forced to dump… [continue reading]
Public Polling on Internet Gaming is Meaningless – for now!By Jeffrey Compton • October 26, 2013(I would like to thank CDC Gaming Reports Editor John Broughton for his invaluable contributions to this analysis.) Twenty-four hours before I sat down to write this column, I had no idea that it would be about Internet gaming. By… [continue reading]
Legalization of online gambling in the USBy Artur Loss • October 25, 2013The prohibition on online gambling in the U.S. ended on June 6, 2013. The Internet Gambling Regulation, Enforcement, and Consumer Protect Act legalized all forms of online gambling except betting on sports. (American Gaming Association, 2013) 37 companies have already… [continue reading]
State of online gaming in EuropeBy Davide Tedesco • October 25, 2013Online gaming within the the European Union (EU) is now governed by the regulations of each participating country. But the EU is moving toward a more coherent, unique European online gaming market. Online gaming services are going through a growing… [continue reading]
Caesars in Massachusetts – Much Ado About NothingBy Ken Adams • October 22, 2013Caesars has some serious issues, but the reason it withdrew from Massachusetts should not be one of them. Caesars has been in the news a lot lately and most of it has been negative. The latest flurry of Caesars news… [continue reading]
What’s in a name? Maybe it’s a company’s reputationBy John L. Smith, Las Vegas Review-Journal • October 22, 2013Although the signage changes with increasing regularity, names are important things in the casino business. So it came as a relief to learn that Caesars Entertainment Corp., as the Review-Journal reported Monday, had decided to dump the Gansevoort Hotel Group… [continue reading]
Daily Fantasy Games, Legal or Not, Rise in The World of Fantasy SportsBy Aaron Stanley • October 20, 2013At first glance, the homepage of FanDuel looks like an online sports casino. But the company, which paid out $50 million in winnings in 2012, is not a traditional online sports bookie. Rather, FanDuel is a fantasy sports website, offering… [continue reading]
Bryan Sandoval: The Middle Seat GovernorBy Ken Adams • October 20, 2013Nevada is a very small state with an estimated 2.7 million inhabitants in 2012. Seventeen states have fewer people, but only eight have more land. That sums up Nevada, few people, but lots of land – desert land. In a… [continue reading]
Dotty’s in Illinois – a New Era and a New OpportunityBy Ken Adams • October 18, 2013A tiny article in the news on Monday, October 14th caught my eye. A Nevada-familiar name, Dotty’s, received a license to open a café with slot machines in the village of Homer Glenn in Illinois. According to the story, Dotty’s… [continue reading]
State of Play: New JerseyBy Luke Hayward • October 17, 2013New Jersey is set to make U.S. gambling history, as it prepares to license and run intra-state online casino gambling on a truly grand scale. Although Delaware, with three land-based casinos running online gambling, will likely be first out of… [continue reading]
AGA Announcing Judy Patterson’s DepartureBy Geoff Freeman, AGA president and CEO • October 15, 2013The American Gaming Association (AGA) is announcing today that Judy Patterson has resigned as senior vice president and executive director. She will continue to support the organization as a consultant over the next year. Working alongside Frank Fahrenkopf, Judy was… [continue reading]
What I learn from what you read!By Jeffrey Compton • October 12, 2013In his far-too-short tenure as CDC Gaming Reports Flash Editor, the late Jeff Simpson repeatedly told me “Check out which news stories our subscribers click and read. It will improve the products, plus you will learn a lot about the… [continue reading]
Size Does Make a DifferenceBy Ken Adams • October 3, 2013One fact stood out at G2E 2013; slot machines are getting bigger. In fact, compared to the little boxes of the 1950s slots that provided the basic DNA for today’s games, they are gigantic monsters. And like the dinosaurs, the… [continue reading]
Getting past the Superficial, Sensational and Attention Getting HeadlinesBy Ken Adams • October 2, 2013In the era in which we live, the media panders to the basest elements of human nature. It chooses subjects that titillate us, rather than subjects which might inform us. Every day on internet news sites, in the print media… [continue reading]
AGA: Gaming Industry Impact of Federal Government ShutdownBy Geoff Freeman, AGA president and CEO • October 1, 2013Gaming Industry Colleagues— As you’ve no doubt heard, Congress failed to reach an agreement on funding for the federal government and all non-essential functions entered a “shutdown” as of midnight this morning. No one in Washington has a good sense… [continue reading]
Online Betting and Off Track Betting are Both Remote PropositionsBy Ken Adams • September 29, 2013G2E 2013 was huge; nearly 30,000 people attended. In attendance and in expo space being used, G2E 2013 approached pre-recession levels. The attendees did what people have been doing at G2E and its predecessors for years; G2E is an annual… [continue reading]
Reluctant casinos get clear warning (LVRJ)By John L. Smith, Las Vegas Review-Journal • September 29, 2013As she made her way through the Sands Expo Center, the most dangerous woman in Las Vegas easily passed for one of the thousands of attendees at last week’s behemoth Global Gaming Expo convention. In a town where showgirls and… [continue reading]
Random G2E opinions posing as thoughtful commentaryBy Jeffrey Compton • September 28, 2013This year’s G2E show floor was a happy place – even on the last day (my favorite time to go). With a few exceptions (I did hear detailed, specific concerns regarding the effects of Obamacare), everyone was upbeat about their… [continue reading]
Looking for an Identity at G2EBy • September 22, 2013G2E is getting ready to open its doors on its 2013 edition, the gaming/casino industry’s annual trade show. For three days, twenty thousand or so people from around the world will gather in Las Vegas to listen to discussions on… [continue reading]
Closing Tables on Graveyard? That is Simply Unacceptable!By • September 18, 2013In the gaming industry, regulation does more than control the gaming activities; regulation also limits and defines legal gaming and the nature of a casino. Las Vegas and Atlantic City casinos are byproducts of each state’s gaming regulations. The size… [continue reading]
A final romantic dinner for Nancy and Bob VannucciBy Ken Adams • September 15, 2013On September 10, the Las Vegas Review-Journal had a touching story about Bob Vannucci. According to Richard Lake, Vannucci is in hospice care and does not have long to live. His last wish was a romantic dinner with his wife…. [continue reading]
Why Marketing People Should be at G2EBy Bert Bertino • September 13, 2013At the Global Gaming Expo (G2E), September 22-26, nearly 30,000 casino gaming executives from across the world will view and discuss both new and time-proven products and programs. They will not only visit booths on the floor and the attend… [continue reading]
Winning Massachusetts by getting the Lowells, if not the CabotsBy Jeffrey Compton • September 11, 2013Five of my happiest years happened in Massachusetts, in the mid-1970s, as I pursued a bachelor’s degree and an MBA from Babson College, in Wellesley. And four of my happiest summers were recent ones spent in the Berkshires, a world-class… [continue reading]
Hit Me!: Fighting the Las Vegas Mob by the Numbers sight unseenBy Ken Adams • September 10, 2013Dennis Gomes led a romantic life. He died in 2012 in the midst of an attempt to turn around the struggling Resorts Casino in Atlantic City. It was the last act of a 40-year career of swimming upstream against common… [continue reading]
Steven the Wizard of Oz WynnBy • September 5, 2013Wherever he goes and whatever he does, Steven Wynn attracts attention. Of course, the main reason people are interested in the comings and goings of Wynn are his casinos. Any time a new Wynn casino opens it is international news. … [continue reading]
Is Scott Walker against free market capitalism?By • August 30, 2013Wisconsin was one of the first states to agree to Indian tribes casinos. That the casinos were to be on traditional tribal land was an underlying assumption. By June of 1992, Governor Tommy Thompson had finalized the last of the… [continue reading]
Riding the Bus: from Harrah to Bethlehem, from Wynn to HighlandBy • August 27, 2013On Thursday, August 22nd, 50 people were injured when a bus bound for San Manuel Indian Bingo & Casino in Highland, California overturned. These days it takes a bus accident before the topic of “casino buses” interests anyone beside the… [continue reading]
Bill Harrah, Donald Trump and some depressing numbersBy • August 22, 2013Numbers alone and by themselves are meaningless if they no context, comparison or accompanying narrative. We need something more than the numbers themselves to give them meaning. So, for example, to say that the casinos in Mississippi generated $192 million in… [continue reading]
Fluttering in the British IslesBy • August 19, 2013Understanding another culture is nearly impossible, but it is far more difficult when you are thousands of miles away with nothing but a few scattered newspaper articles for information. Even when the culture is your mother culture, it is a… [continue reading]
Resorts World – Just a Subway Stop AwayBy • August 14, 2013The casinos in Ohio are in giving free play a serious test run. In July, some of the casinos gave away as much as 30 percent of casino “win” in free play. That is a foretaste of some of bloody… [continue reading]
Summer on the Boardwalk; July 2013 in Atlantic CityBy • August 9, 2013From the opening bell on May 26, 1978, the casinos in Atlantic City were successful. In its first year, Resorts generated $134 million in gaming revenue and by 1981 there were 9 casinos in the boardwalk city generating over a… [continue reading]
The Midwest Marketing War of 2013By • August 8, 2013The July gaming numbers are in for Ohio. The casinos which were open in July of 2012 were down in July 2013. The Horseshoe in Cleveland was down 17 percent – about the same as the casinos in Indiana have… [continue reading]
Rick Pitino wants to save horse racing – good luck, RickBy • August 2, 2013Horse racing has been a challenged industry (some call it a sport) since casinos started to spread out of Nevada and across the country. In any state with racing as soon as casinos start to open in that state or… [continue reading]
Dayclubs, sports bars and the internet: where is Las Vegas headed?By • July 31, 2013The casino industry is dynamic. Nothing remains the same for long and those who fail to note that fact get left in the dust. The famous trendsetters like Steve Wynn are always reinventing the casino experience and broadening both our… [continue reading]
Wall Street on steroids in MacauBy • July 24, 2013It is often argued that Wall Street is the cause of many of the worst of modern business practices. It is the world of Wall Street that puts a constant pressure on all publicly traded companies to increase earnings and… [continue reading]
Fact checking is getting to be a lost artBy • July 17, 2013One of the side effects of the rapid expansion of gaming is a rapid expansion of gaming reporters. Ohio, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Maryland have all spawned homegrown reporters with new assignments covering the gaming industry; and Macau has by itself… [continue reading]
The Fool’s WagerBy • July 14, 2013There is a phenomenon taking place in Macau that reminds me of the 1980’s in Nevada casinos. In Macau, the number of players is decreasing or remaining the same, but the average wager per player is increasing. The wager is… [continue reading]
Economic and Security Review Commission; Being investigated by Congress is always painfulBy • July 5, 2013A congressional committee, the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, is holding hearings on the impacts of economic practices on national security; and last week that mean money laundering in Macau. Some of the committee members are thinking, as Bob… [continue reading]
Those unintended consequences reaching into IowaBy • July 3, 2013Today, Radio Iowa had an article that makes a perfect follow-up to my blog; The Law of Unintended Consequences and VLTs in Illinois. The article is about casinos in Iowa not Illinois. However, it mentions the VLTs in Illinois. According… [continue reading]
The Law of Unintended Consequences and VLTs in IllinoisBy • July 1, 2013Expansion in mid-2013 is still the major story in the casino industry. Expansion into new states or within a state has often been driven by lawmakers looking for new sources of revenue to balance budgets. But, there have been other… [continue reading]
A tale of regulation and two cities; a Boardwalk and a Strip cityBy • June 27, 2013Since 1978, it has been impossible to avoid comparing the cities and the casinos of Las Vegas and Atlantic City. In the beginning they were the only American jurisdictions with casinos; but even as Iowa, Colorado, South Dakota, Illinois,… [continue reading]
Wayne Gilliland was a casino manager’s friendBy • June 23, 2013Over the course of everyone’s career a few people always standout; people who for one reason or another made a big difference. One of those people for me was Wayne Gilliland. In the 1980s Wayne was in the midst of… [continue reading]
Tribal casinos are struggling like everyone elseBy • June 21, 2013Indian gaming under the regulation of the National Indian Gaming Regulatory Act has been around for 25 years. Most of the newness and strangeness has worn off, and in most communities with Indian casinos, Indian gaming is pretty well-understood. However,… [continue reading]
The Delaware DilemmaBy • June 16, 2013The lotteries may be able to change the rules, but casinos can’t; when casinos become overwhelmed by the economy, competition and taxes they are left with few options. One of those options is going to the capitol to ask for… [continue reading]
In an online game the lottery will hold the trump cardBy • June 12, 2013Lotteries and casinos are both in the gambling business; each offers its customers an opportunity to make a wager and to buy a chance at the big jackpot. Both the lotteries and the casinos operate under state law and each… [continue reading]
Steve’s Wynning WaysBy • June 4, 2013Massachusetts is in a long, slow and tedious process of introducing casinos. With the regulations in place, the selection process has begun; at stake are three casino licenses and one license for a slot parlor. The state has been divided… [continue reading]
When is no news really good news?By • May 29, 2013One news phenomenon always confuses me; there is no news on holidays. Why is that? Of course, there events that are undeniable and unavoidable, such as earthquakes, bombs and deaths of well-known people – those get reported by the media. … [continue reading]
An adolescent lottery arms race; my jackpot is bigger than your jackpotBy • May 22, 2013The second largest lottery jackpot in the history of the world hit on Saturday, May 18, 2013; it was $590.5 million. The run-up to the record levels of mega jackpots has been much faster since the Powerball officials figured out… [continue reading]
Counting seats in Macau to predict the future in the U.S.By • May 16, 2013Just why is gaming revenue in Macau growing so fast? Why has it stagnated in the United States, at least in all existing jurisdictions? Of course, we all know that Macau has mainland China has its primary market – 1.6… [continue reading]
Forbes: Real Money Gambling On Mobile Games Is HereBy • May 7, 2013The major challenge in being a casino industry observer is making sense of the news. It is part of the job, as it were, to take the information available daily, sort out the significant from the routine news and to… [continue reading]
It is the Game of Patience Carl Icahn Plays and he plays it wellBy • May 4, 2013Just when it seemed that the Atlantic City casino industry was being reengineered from the bottom up Carl Icahn has called a time out. Buying casinos in Atlantic City at bargain basement prices has been a trend lately; for 20,… [continue reading]
The Proverbial House’s Edge; The house always win in the endBy • May 1, 2013Lately, I have been thinking about some numbers in gaming; and casino gambling is all about numbers, the dollars wagered, won and lost and probability of each expressed numerically. Every casino game is designed to pay less than true odds. … [continue reading]
Will Japan’s casino surpass the Las Vegas casinos?By • April 24, 2013A while back I wrote a piece about the growth of gaming in the United States, in particular about the growth of other forms of gaming. I cited Florida and California as examples – California with its 38 million people… [continue reading]
A Pennsylvania whirlwind that hit AC, but now it may be turning back and going homeBy • April 18, 2013After six years, everyone gets it – Wall Street, investors, state officials, regulators, casino operators, casino employees – everyone considered: Atlantic City is in trouble. The demise of Atlantic City was a topic of discussion at the eight annual Pennsylvania… [continue reading]
Could a bus accident bring casinos to Texas?By • April 12, 2013Recently, while the Texas legislature was in a discussion about allowing casinos in Texas, a bus crashed into the midst of the debate. The bus did not crash into the legislature itself, but its impact is likely to be felt… [continue reading]
Maybe this Time. Maybe this time, I’ll be luckyBy • April 10, 2013Maybe this Time Maybe this time, I’ll be lucky Maybe this time, he’ll stay Maybe this time For the first time Love won’t hurry away It’s got to happen, happen sometime Maybe this time I’ll win Cabaret, John Kander, Fred… [continue reading]
What is in a name, or a number for that matter?By • April 9, 2013What’s in a name? That which we call a rose,By any other name would smell as sweet.” William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, 1597 As Willy so famously said, it is the thing that matters, not what we call it. But… [continue reading]
Sheldon is staging a party and inviting 600 million ChineseBy • April 5, 2013Sports and gambling go together like bread and butter – or something. It is hard to imagine any major sporting event without gambling; it is hard to imagine because it does not happen. The sport leagues in the United States… [continue reading]
The lag between reality and public perceptionBy • March 30, 2013According to Hilaire Belloc, there is a lag between reality and public perception of reality. Writing in 1929 about French Cardinal Richelieu and his impact on Europe, Belloc describes the lag in terms of the Spanish Empire. In 1620 the… [continue reading]
Bring’em back and put’em onlineBy • March 29, 2013It seems that cloning has become passé; we have moved passed cloning to a new era of species reproduction – reproductive physiology – using DNA to create a copy of the original organism. Scientists are now saying, that even some… [continue reading]
Gas prices going up – how high is too high?By • March 26, 2013It is difficult to understand the economy; we are given dozens of measurements to help us – the Down Jones average, unemployment rate, job grow, housing sales, cars sales and customer confidence. They are all important numbers, but they… [continue reading]
Finally some good news!By • March 22, 2013The last five years have been brutal economically; housing tanked, unemployment soared and business in general stopped or at least stalled. Little by little we are creeping out of that dark time and entering once again into an era of… [continue reading]
“Hey, Buddy, got a light?”By • March 20, 2013Atlantic City is grabbing headlines again, but this time it is not the casino revenue doing the grabbing. After years of decline, Atlantic City casino revenues casinos no longer garner much attention outside of New Jersey. In fact, there are… [continue reading]
Online and Chasing Lady LuckBy • March 14, 2013Since Nevada and New Jersey had their race to be the first to the Internet, there has been lots of activity on the subject elsewhere. Pennsylvania, Illinois, California and New York are mulling over the idea; each state sees a… [continue reading]
It is a dog eat dog world out there and there is no easy way outBy • March 12, 2013One cannot put too much emphasis on comparisons between February 2012 and February 2013 – this year was not a leap year; in fact it is beginning to look more like a stumble year. As the gaming results roll in… [continue reading]
Oz the Great and Powerful Visits LV – not ACBy • March 8, 2013For certain, the biggest news story of the week in gaming was the announcement that Genting is buying the Echelon parcel in Las Vegas from Boyd Gaming. Genting paid $4 million an acre for the site on the famous Strip;… [continue reading]
Stardusting on the StripBy • March 5, 2013In 1958, the Stardust Hotel Casino opened in Las Vegas on the Strip. It closed 48 years later to make way for a grand new casino resort; Boyd Corporation imploded the building intending to build a $4 billion dollar project… [continue reading]
It is Online Time! Internet connections to everything you ever wanted, including gamblingBy • February 28, 2013There is a new kid on the block, online on the block; As there has been every month for the last couple of years, the gaming news is filled with stories of gambling’s expansion. Ohio is closing in on its… [continue reading]
Why would anyone buy a casino in Atlantic City in 2013?By • February 23, 2013Atlantic City has moved back onto gaming’s center stage in February, there was bad news and good news from the Boardwalk. The bad news first, the city’s casinos reported a 13% decline in gaming revenues in January, the city’s casinos… [continue reading]
Changing an industry; Professor William R. EadingtonBy • February 18, 2013Since he died on February 11, 2013, Bill Eadington has been the subject of dozens of columns and obituaries from around the world, including one in the New York Times. It is rare for a professor from the University of… [continue reading]
There are no magic pills, no passports into a bygone eraBy • February 16, 2013As the revenue figures continue to come in from across the northeast, the impact of the increased competition is being becoming clearer; its is more damaging than anyone would have believed in 2005. In January, Atlantic City casinos reported a… [continue reading]
What does saturation look like? Update – 2013By • February 15, 2013Recently, I posed a question: “Have all the good things been taken?” In that piece I argued that all of the good opportunities for further expansion of gaming are gone. The implication was the American gaming market was nearing a… [continue reading]
Online gambling on the Boardwalk and the StripBy • February 10, 2013For the second time in as many years, Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey has vetoed an online gambling bill. On Thursday, February 7th, Christie exercised his right to reject legislation approved by the state legislature and said no… [continue reading]
A Junket ride to Macau – sponsored by the Times of London; an updateBy • February 8, 2013Several times in the last year, I have written about Macau, about the challenges for any non-Chinese company trying to operate there; essentially there are two major unresolved issues in my mind. Those issues, the uncertainty of Chinese policy making… [continue reading]
Regulating casinos in MassachusettsBy • February 2, 2013The gaming commission in Massachusetts is front and center of all of the activity leading up to the actual start of casino gambling in Massachusetts. It set, as all gaming commissions do, the regulations and conditions for the conducting of… [continue reading]
Macau Just Might Be a House of CardsBy • January 31, 2013The casinos in Macau are the busiest in the world; they dominate the income statements of three of America’s largest casino companies as well as the largest Australian casino company. The casino industry in Macau has grown so fast that… [continue reading]
Fantasy Sports and Online Lotteries – trends to watchBy • January 26, 2013Looking for the trends behind the news is a kind of game for me; it is something I do it with everything that I read or see anywhere. It is comparable to reading a mystery story, or playing any game… [continue reading]
2012 was a very good year; a very good year for competition and red inkBy • January 24, 2013As I have written before, the torch has been passed to a new generation of casinos. In 2006, the casinos in Atlantic City were second only to the Las Vegas Strip casinos in revenue. That position now belongs to Pennsylvania… [continue reading]
A heavy weight fight in MassachusettsBy • January 17, 2013At first glance, the competition for a casino license in Massachusetts may not look like a heavy weight fight, but by the time it is over no one will doubt that it was; those left standing will be scared, but… [continue reading]
A changing of the guards – Cleveland tops Atlantic CityBy • January 12, 2013The news from Atlantic City has not been good this week; the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement released the gaming revenue figures for December and for 2012 and the numbers are not pretty. The casinos in Atlantic City just… [continue reading]
The Pennsylvania lottery: A greedy piggy or a helpful citizen?By • January 10, 2013 The billboard depicts a caricature of a pig in a suit with a Union Jack on its lapel, holding a vacuum cleaner that is sucking dollar bills out of an elderly woman’s purse. Lottery Post, 1-9-13 Good, bad, ugly and… [continue reading]
Lenin, windjammers and volcanoes: musings on things pastBy • January 1, 2013What do Vladimir Lenin, windjammers and volcanoes have in common? Not much you might say, but in the gaming industry they are exactly the same thing, the same concept dressed in different clothes. Over the course of its modern history,… [continue reading]
Using yesterday to guess at tomorrowBy • December 29, 2012It is the end of a year, 2012; the end of any year always brings out two kind of pundits, those who summarize the preceding year and those who peek into the future. Both are subject to error, the summarizer… [continue reading]
After the hurricane – facing the future weakened and damagedBy • December 18, 2012Hurricane Sandy was probably the most destructive storm to hit the United States, ever; the hurricane was even given a hyper name, Super-Storm Sandy. Sandy was terribly destructive not because of the power of its winds or the amount of… [continue reading]
Massachusetts a long slow road to travel to get to a casinoBy • December 9, 2012The latest state to walk down the gambling road, Massachusetts is walking slower than the others. The American Gaming Association studied the subject and concluded that 3 years was the average it took a state to go from passing legislation… [continue reading]
Another casino or two coming down the Pennsylvania TurnpikeBy • December 6, 2012It is an old story already, but one that is being still reported; there are too many casinos in the Northeast and there are more on the way. The stories usually appear each month when the monthly gaming revenue figures… [continue reading]
After the Powerball jackpot – what next?By • November 30, 2012And then, like all good things it came to an end; I, for one, am disappointed. I wanted to see what would happen if the jackpot continued to grow. It hit on Wednesday, November 28th for about $590 million; a… [continue reading]
Oh Lord, Please let me win. Just once, I will be good forever. I promise.By • November 28, 2012The modern version of the state lottery started in 1964 with New Hampshire. It had taken about 75 years for the bad taste of the corrupt lotteries of the second half of the 19th century to leave the national consciousness. … [continue reading]
The day after – casino gaming and the electionBy Ken Adams • November 12, 2012Well, at last the election is over, regardless of whether your candidate won or lost, or whether your ballot issue passed or failed you, too, must be as glad as I am to have to constant barrage of campaign advertising,… [continue reading]
Not between a rock and a hard place- a Hard Rock success storyBy • November 11, 2012When is Indian gaming Indian gaming and when it is something else? Of course, in a technical sense Indian gaming is only Indian gaming when an Indian tribe operates a gaming operation under the guidelines and within the constraints of… [continue reading]
Did Darwin discover the Internet, or just describe how it came to be?By • September 5, 2012Identifying the precise moment of change is not always possible, nor is always possible to identify the person who brought it about. Today, while waiting at the blood clinic for my appointment I was reading an advertisement for a course… [continue reading]
The GOP takes a stand against online gamblingBy • August 30, 2012Whenever gaming appears on the political landscape it takes on a partisan cast. In some states, the Democratic Party is pro-gaming and supports gaming legislation, while the Republican Party takes the opposite point of view and opposes the legislation. In… [continue reading]
Bad timing and bad luck on the BoardwalkBy • August 23, 2012By now, it is no secret that Atlantic City casino market is challenged; casinos have grown up in all of its feeder markets and are siphoning off the cream from its cash-flow. No property is going to be more challenged… [continue reading]
Putting a lid back on Pandora’s boxBy • August 21, 2012Twenty years or so ago, I. Nelson Rose wrote a piece about the spread of gaming. At that time, Nelson said that we were in the beginning of the third wave of gambling expansion in the United States. Each of… [continue reading]
Not so responsible gamblingBy • August 11, 2012The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act passed in 1988; in the 24 years since the IGRA passed there have been many changes Indian country. It would be safe to say that before the Act and the advent of Indian gaming Indian… [continue reading]
The day the earth stood stillBy • August 7, 2012Bang! For a moment today, the earth stood still, frozen like a bad connection on Skype. In that frozen picture you could, if only for a second, see the future – a new sort of Brave New World. It… [continue reading]
Protected: Skill SetsBy Frank Legato, CDC Gaming Reports • March 8, 1998There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.