![handle is hein.journals/gmglwr17 and id is 1 raw text is: DOI: 10.1089/glre.2013.1711
Gambits
News in brief about the gaming world
HOLY TOLEDO!
REVENUE'S UP!
According to Ohio's Casino Con-
trol Commission, Toledo, Ohio's
Hollywood Casino posted a gain in
December 2012 revenue over No-
vember 2012: $14.2 million vs. $13.6
million. That's significant for the
new casino, which started operating
late May 2012, because its revenue
had previously peaked in June
2012, at over $20mm, on the strength
of grand opening excitement. Since
then, revenue had been declining,
so it's heartening to the operator, in-
vestors, the city, and state to see the
downward trend reverse with an up-
tick. Slots were up more (7.7%) than
table games (2.2%).
MGM RESORTS
INTERNATIONAL
GETS APPROVAL FOR
MACAU EXPANSION
The Macau government approved
MGM Resorts Internationals' Macau
subsidy (a partnership between
MGM and Pansy Ho, daughter of
Stanley Ho) to build its second casino
there. The new casino is to be sited in
the Cotai area, and is planned as a
US$2.5 billion full-amenities resort:
1,600 hotel rooms, 500 gaming tables,
2,500 slot machines, restaurants, re-
tail stores, and extensive entertain-
ment offerings. It's designed to offer
more than just gambling, in a bid
to increase MGM's Macau market
share. With Macau's growth slow-
ing-though it's only by comparison
with 2011's 42% growth rate that
2012's 14% could seem disappoint-
ing-grabbing a larger share of the
market has assumed greater impor-
tance. It's no longer assumed that
the revenue pie will grow endlessly,
which puts a premium on slicing off
a larger piece of that pie. MGM's
existing Macau casino currently ac-
counts for around 10% of the
Macau gambling market.
WHEN IN DOUBT ... LOBBY!
Also in Ohio news: with the state's
Internet cafes facing a potential ban
on their operations, cafe operators
may organize to lobby state govern-
ment. In December, Ohio's state Sen-
ate delayed its vote on a bill passed
by the state House of Representa-
tives which would have defined
sweepstakes narrowly, in such a
way as to force most (if not all) of
the state's 800 Internet cafes to
cease operations. In response, an in-
dustry group called the Internet
Cafe Coalition of Ohio (ICCO?-
they obviously didn't put a lot of
thought into the acronym) is trying
to organize cafe owners to lobby
lawmakers. That's democracy in the
United States for you-when trying
to get something done, organize an
industry or special interest group
and start lobbying.
FAKE BOMBER WHO
BLAMED HIS ACTIONS
ON HIS GAMBLING
ADDICTION GETS
71/2 YEARS IN A REAL JAIL
Lloyd Jones robbed eight travel
agencies and betting shops in the
United Kingdom by using a fake
bomb. Unfortunately for him, as the
judge pointed out at his trial, A lay
person would never know if [the
bomb] was genuine or not, so his
fake bomb was treated at the real
thing. That got him 7/2 years in jail,
despite the fact that he didn't cause
any injuries. Jones blamed his gam-
bling problem for his robbery spree;
however, while he sought leniency
on that account, the court evidently
wasn't buying it, concluding that
even if you have a gambling problem,
you are not entitled to act like a terror-
ist: You looked for soft targets where
ready cash would be available and
where all the victims were female
members of staff. They were left
shocked and feeling vulnerable.
Well, at least he should have a good
long time to get his alleged gambling
monkey off his back while in prison.
TEN OUT OF ELEVEN
AIN'T BAD ...
Figures released in November
2012 by the New Jersey Division of
Gaming Enforcement showed that
ten of eleven Atlantic City casinos
posting a modest, but positive, gain
for third quarter 2012 vs. third quar-
ter 2011: a 2.3% increase in operating
profits, from $182.1 million (2011) to
$186.4 million (2012). Even better, for
the first nine months of the year, the
same ten of eleven casinos posted
an approximately 9% gain over the
same period, prior year, with operat-
ing profit of $454mm (2012) vs. ap-
proximately $417mm (2011). The
gain was mostly realized on non-
gambling revenue and hotel occu-
pancy increases.
... UNLESS YOU'RE
THE ELEVENTH
But every silver lining has a cloud
wrapped around it, and in the case
of Atlantic City casinos, that cloud
is the newest casino, the Revel. If
the Revel's numbers were thrown
into the mix, then Atlantic City
would have had an 18% decline,
not a 2.3% gain, in operating profit
for the third quarter 2012 vs. third
quarter 2011. That decline would
have been driven by the Revel's
$37mm loss for the third quarter.
The Revel has been consistently los-
ing money, and appears to be oper-
ating at an unsustainable rate; a
casino workers union, for example,
has warned Revel investors that by
their calculations, the Revel will
need to make $28mm to $33mm a
month just to meet the interest pay-
ments on its huge debt overhang.
However, since the Revel's best
month to date has seen it take in
only $20mm in gambling, if the
union's numbers are correct, the
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