This Week in Gaming Review

The big news in gaming came from Atlantic City with the report that the Taj Mahal Hotel and Casino will close as of October 10. There is a strike at that facility and the owners are blaming it for the decision to shut down. The Taj was not doing well before the strike so that is not totally accurate. If this decision stands, this will drop the number of casinos in AC to 7. Revel was scheduled to re open sometime in August but no definitive date was given. The Taj was once the crown jewel of the Boardwalk. In 2003, the Taj had the highest grossing casino revenue in AC. The lack of property reinvestment and Borgata changed that over the last 10- 14 years.

Penn National purchased a social gaming site that will help with the possibility of online gaming coming to Pennsylvania. A social gaming site give a casino another way to engage with the player when they are not on property. The name of this firm is Rocket Games Inc. and they are based in San Francisco.

Parx Casino was selected by Philadelphia Magazine in the #BestofPhilly  edition. Philadelphia Magazine has been compiling this list for over 42 years. They include everything from restaurants, bars ,cheese steaks and beauty salons. Everything! We commend everyone that was selected and look forward to see who makes the list in 2017.

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                                                        48 days until #G2E2016

This Week in Gaming Review

The 2nd week of 2016 provided statistics that made operators in Pennsylvania and New Jersey nothing less than ecstatic.  Pennsylvania posted record numbers last year to $3.17 billion, topping the previous high of $3.16 billion set in 2012. This information was released by the PGCB on Friday.

 

The four casinos in the Philadelphia area had $1.19 billion in revenue, up 3.9 percent form $1.14 billion the year before. Slots revenue was up 2.8 percent locally, while table games revenue gained 6.6 percent. The 4 Philly casinos include Parx, SugarHouse, Harrahs and Valley Forge. These outstanding numbers are a prelude to the Philly Live project that is expected to start construction within the next 11 months.

New Jersey Online Gaming hit a new monthly revenue high in December and full-year revenue improved by more than 20 percent. The Atlantic City leaders in December were Borgata and Caesars Interactive.

Borgata

According to figures released Wednesday by the Division of Gaming Enforcement, state-licensed online operators reported revenue of $14m in December, 6% more than November reported 13.2 million and 30.8% higher than December 2014’s total. The online casino vertical rose 39% year-on-year to $12m, while poker revenue fell 3.6% to just under $2m. For the year as a whole, the state’s online revenue came to $148.8m, 21% higher than 2014. Total online casino revenue in 2015 came to $125m, up one-third from 2014, while poker revenue fell 18% to $23.8 million. This is confirms that online gaming is trending in the right direction.

 

Governor Brian Sandoval

Lastly, Gov. Brian Sandoval officially reconvened the Nevada Gaming Policy Committee to discuss skill-based games and daily fantasy sports, among other issues.

According to a statement from his office, Sandoval signed an executive order to reconvene the 12-member committee, which includes the governor, select members of the legislature, a tribal representative, members of the public and other appointees, including gaming regulators and licensees.

"The industry is constantly changing as more states and countries enter into this increasingly competitive field, and I believe the changes we are witnessing demand the attention of Nevada’s policy leaders," Sandoval says in the statement.

According to the statement, "The objective of the Committee is to gather input from various constituencies, including the public, on gaming policy issues, for possible future consideration by Nevada’s Gaming Control Board and Gaming Commission, as appropriate."

The committee meet no later than March 15 and deliver non-binding recommendations before October. I am curious to see which licensees will be on the committee. I'll report that information in a future post.  I want to note that the Associated Press was the source of the Nevada related news. It was condense to fit this post.

 

 

I was 2-2 last week during NFL wildcard weekend with the best bet losing. Texans + 8.5 in a teaser.

This week my best bet is #Seattle + 8.5 in a teaser. Enjoy the games.

 

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Online Gaming News in Pennsylvania

The past three weeks have been similar to  Fast and Furious 7 with all the activity involving online gaming. Pennsylvania has at least two additional bills that are related to internet gambling. One takes on the logistics involving registration and the exclusion of any holders of a Category 3 license. This would deny Valley Forge the opportunity to participate.

 

The new bills are also asking for a tax rate of 54%. This is  the same level that Pa. taxes slot play. This will not work in an online environment. New Jersey is making things work with a rate of 17.5%. That rate has the operators able to market the product and turn a profit. With the rate of 54%, there would not be internet gaming in New Jersey. Delaware taxes online slots at a rate of 43.6 percent and 29.4 percent for other games, including poker. The first $3.75 million per year has a 100 percent tax rate. They are not making any money.

Mark Lipparelli

Mark Lipparelli, Former Chairman of the Nevada Gaming Control Board, told a California House Committee that he felt the proper tax rate would be the high single digits and that any amount higher than the low teens would hurt the growth of regulated online gaming. Promotions are the drivers of internet wagering. They are limited when the profit margin is minimal. A rate of 12 to 15% is suitable. It could start at the low end and increase over a 4 year span.

 

I am sure that the compromise phase will come when the bills reach the floors of the House and Senate. Here are my three bullets of what can make this happen successfully and by 2016.

• Remove the registration at the property stipulation. That takes the convenience factor out of it. This also limits the operator to a locals only atmosphere.
• Set up the capacity for compacting agreements with any state that has online gaming. This would increase liquidity in Poker and Slots when tournaments are held. It would also drive more revenue to the participating states.
• Limit the amount of providers to casinos that are currently operating  in this state. They are stakeholders and would maintain the integrity of the online product. Allow at least one partner that is independent of the casino to buy into the platform of shared revenue, provided that partner can pass a review by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. This would increase marketing efforts. 

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Philly's 2nd Casino License: The Odds

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board is holding a meeting Tuesday in Philadelphia to decide about the 2nd gaming license. The 4 remaining applicants are awaiting this decision. The existing 4 operators are also concerned. Market conditions indicate that gaming revenue is not at a premium on the east coast. But the board has the final say in this.  So I decided to set  a betting line as to who the odds favor in this process.

 

Philly Live has an impressive track record(Maryland Live). Live has partnered with Parx Casino and both have strong numbers in their respective markets. Great location near stadiums. They will have a synergy with Xfinity Live. A existing hotel site in place. 2-1

 

Casino Revolution has a location near the stadiums and is accessible to major highways. I-95 and Delaware Avenue come to mind. They have plans to develop an amusement park that will cater to families. They state they can open faster than any other applicant (15 to 18 months). 3-1

Market Eight has the development of the center city Gallery area to draw on. Major stores that cater to millennials are part of this renaissance. This group has the most disposable income.  Easy access by public transportation. They are located near major hotels and the convention center. 4-1

 

The Provence has the most original design of the 4. They plan to have a international flavor to their casino. Note the name. They 'll have a spa and world class restaurants. This will appeal to the business clientele that surrounds them in the heart of center city. 4-1

The Board could also differ a decision until 2015 when Governor -elect Tom Wolf can weigh in. They are politically appointed and able to vote without responding to the influence from the governor's office. 7-1

The Gaming Board could also look at the state of gaming on the east coast and feel that the region is not ready for another casino. This would maintain the balance that currently exist. Each existing operator has it's own niche. Harrah's Philly has the Total Reward brand that works nationally. Parx and Valley Forge have the outlying areas of Philadelphia and the suburbs to draw from. SugarHouse Casino has the prime location and is approximately 10 minutes away from center city. 
                                   Odds of not granting a license to anyone. Even Money.

          You can't bet these propositions anywhere but you can talk about them everywhere.
                                              What do you think will happen?

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Gaming in Pennsylvania: Where do we go from here?

The election is over. Governor-elect Tom Wolf will be sworn in January 2015. He inherits a state that is in need of cash for a myriad of problems.

Where will that money come from?  I'm a betting man so I'm looking at gambling. Not for me but for Pennsylvania. I see two potential options for 2015.

One is the gaming license that the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board is mulling over for Philadelphia. The applicants are vying for it and willing to provide tax revenue and jobs. The closing of several casinos in Atlantic City has many insiders thinking that another license may saturate the Philadelphia market. That is not the view of Casino Revolution, Market 8, Live! and Provence. It should be noted that Wynn Philadelphia and Hollywood withdrew their bids.

They all feel they can make it work without  totally cannibalizing  the 3 casinos that are presently in operation. The economic impact will primarily effect Philadelphia and not the entire Commonwealth. I'll go into detail about the viability of expanding the market in a future post. You can get updates through the process by joining the PGCB mailing list.

The second option is to explore online gaming from all aspects. Poker and Table Games come to mind. The model in New Jersey shows that there is a demand to play online. That demand is slowly manifesting toward being a 200 million dollar business within the next 18 months.

Poker alone will not bring in enough revenue to merit implementation. Nevada's online poker’s best month this year was June, when the revenue exceeded $1 million. This was largely due to the World Series of Poker. The live event prompted an influx of online players. Experts say the game would be more popular and lucrative if Nevadans could legally gamble online with pools of players from other states.

Poker Only Model

I think the online line approach is more feasible. It creates jobs, tax revenue and more importantly, levels the playing field amongst the existing casinos. New Jersey was able to get ramped up and start gaming online in less than a year. Pennsylvania could do the same thing. 

Due to a larger population and site possibilities to play, we could exceed the 200 million I quoted earlier in New Jersey in half the time. An extensive report was submitted to the Pennsylvania legislature by  Econsult  and it supports this theory. The revenue from online gaming could cure a lot of problems in the areas of social services and education.

Where do you think we should go?  Share your thoughts on gaming in Pennsylvania by following me.
Learn more about online gaming and how it can shape your future entertainment experiences.
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