When state governments become addicted to Gambling Revenues, the decline caused by Gambling Market Saturation is significant.....you can't GAMBLE your way to prosperity!

U.S. casinos continued to struggle in August

 

By Thomas Ott, The Plain DealerThe Plain Dealer


The U.S. gaming industry continues to struggle, based on a stream of August revenue reports.
A comparison of the month with the same period in 2012 shows:

• Slots revenue fell nearly 4 percent in Pennsylvania, which reports slots and table-game figures in alternating months. Decreases were reported at nine of the 11 casinos open in 2012.
• Revenue fell 3.5 percent at Detroit's three casinos. MotorCity's numbers rose 1.5 percent, but totals fell 4.8 percent at the MGM Grand and 7.7 percent at Greektown, recently acquired by Cleveland casino owner Dan Gilbert.
• Northwest Indiana's five casinos reported taking in 3 percent less. Revenue for the first eight months was off 4.5 percent when compared with the same stretch in 2012.
• Two of Atlantic City's 12 casinos reported double-digit increases, but, overall, revenue fell 5 percent. Atlantic City casino revenue was down during each month of the summer season.
• Revenue declined at five of six St. Louis-area casinos. The market's revenue declined more than 3 percent overall, compared with the same month in 2012, but individual casinos saw decreases as large as 10 percent.

Ohio regulators released new monthly revenue figures last week. The three venues open for a full year all reported declines from August 2012: 17 percent at the Horseshoe Casino Cleveland, 15 percent at Scioto Downs Racino in Columbus and 9 percent at the Hollywood Casino in Toledo.



http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2013/09/us_casinos_continued_to_strugg.html

Caesars salivating to invade Massachusetts continues loss

Dear Mr. Loveman,

You may be a mathematical genius, but how long has it been since Caesars made a profit?
Why should Massachusetts taxpayers bail out Caesars when you can't?

Just wondering!



Caesars suffers $220.6 million quarterly loss, sees positive signs from Las Vegas
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

Posted: Oct. 31, 2012

 

Caesars Entertainment Corp. suffered a net loss of $220.6 million in the third quarter, blaming noncash charges of $419 million for the decline compared to a year ago.

During a conference call with investors and analysts Wednesday, Caesars Chairman Gary Loveman said the company's four casinos in Atlantic City that were closed by Hurricane Sandy, could reopen by the weekend.

Company spokesman Gary Thompson told Reuters there was moderate to heavy damage to roofs and upper floors at some of the casinos. He said work crews could repair facilities in time to open when New Jersey lifts its emergency declaration.

Atlantic City is a concern among gaming analysts. The market has suffered considerably since 2008 and any additional business disruption could continue to depress the market.

KDP Investment Advisors gaming analyst Barbara Cappaert said she be adjusting fourth quarter and 2013 estimates as the impact of Hurricane Sandy on Atlantic City emerges.

"Our concern in the near-term is that the economic devastation will have a drag on Atlantic City results by at least 10 percent," Cappaert said. "This will certainly not help gain Caesars the momentum it needs to improve its credit metrics."

During the quarter, Caesars' Atlantic City casinos saw revenues decline $20.2 million or 4.1 percent during the quarter due to lower casino spending from declining visits by customers.

The company, which operates 10 casinos on or near the Strip, said Wednesday net revenues for the quarter than ended Sept. 30, increased less than 1 percent to $2.198 billion. The company credited revenues from its interactive operations, which include social gaming operator Playtika Ltd.

"Generally speaking Caesars' results were in line with our expectations," Cappaert said.
Caesars also said higher revenues from its management contract for the Horseshoe Cleveland helped offset by lower casino revenues in all the company's markets, except for Las Vegas and the Illinois-Indiana region.

"Thanks primarily to growth in our interactive operations and a continued emphasis on expense reductions, we achieved about the same net revenues despite more competitive markets and the challenges posed by the continuing weakness of the U.S. economy," Caesars Entertainment Chairman
Gary Loveman said in a statement.

The company said "sluggish economic conditions" caused customer visitation and spending to decline in several regions. However, Las Vegas saw a nearly 8 percent increase in customer spending per trip.

Caesars expects to close the $610 million sale of its Harrah's St. Louis casino to Penn National Gaming early this month. The proceeds will be used to reinvest into the company's core properties, including the remodeling of the Imperial Palace, which will be renamed The Quad, which is adjacent to the $550 million Linq development on the Strip.

Linq is scheduled to open in phases in the second half of 2013.

Caesars continues to expand into new markets. The company will open the $450 million Horseshoe Cincinnati next spring and is planning to open a casino Baltimore. Both projects are being developed in conjunction with Rock Gaming of Detroit.

"We moved forward with the expansion of our distribution network into growth markets while we continued to invest in our hub markets of Las Vegas and Atlantic City," Loveman said.
Shares of Caesars Entertainment on Wednesday closed down 6 cents, or 1.03 percent, at $5.79 on the Nasdaq Global Select.

http://www.lvrj.com/business/caesars-suffers-220-6-million-quarterly-loss-sees-positive-signs-from-las-vegas-176665091.html

Missouri Casino Crimes

Two St. Louis men charged after robbery at River City casino

ST. LOUIS COUNTY • Two St. Louis men were charged today in a robbery early this morning outside the River City casino.

Maurice T. Wilson, 25, and Kenneth R. Wilson, 19, both of the 5000 block of Minerva Avenue, were charged with first-degree robbery and armed criminal action, police said. Wilson also was charged with resisting arrest by fleeing. Bail for both suspects was set at $100,000.

The relationship of the suspects was unclear; St. Louis County police spokesman Rick Eckhard said he didn't know if they were related.

St. Louis County police said a man was robbed on the parking lot of the casino, in south St. Louis County, about 2 a.m. The amount of money stolen was not released.

Police spotted the suspects' car and said the men tried to outrun officers. They fled into Illinois, but drove into a cornfield off of Route 3. The driver was arrested immediately.

A passenger ran off but was captured about three hours later in Dupo, police say. He was found, covered in mud, walking along Interstate 255.

Eckhard said the victim, who was not hurt, talked to a police officer working outside the casino. The officer quickly contacted dispatchers with a description of the suspects' car.

"Anyone who chooses (to commit robbery on) a casino parking lot is actually foolish because casinos on the inside contain the Highway Patrol and on the outside we do the security and there are a lot of surveillance cameras," Eckhard said. "It's a terrible place (for robberies), but lucky for us these people aren't always the brightest."



St. Louis County man sues Casino Queen after 'follow-home' robbery
BY NICHOLAS J.C. PISTOR


CLAYTON • A St. Louis County man has sued the Casino Queen, claiming the East St. Louis casino failed to protect him after he won $17,500 at a black jack table.

Mark Myers claimed the Casino Queen did not offer him "an alternative form of payment, such as a check, did not offer him a more private place in which to conduct his transaction, did not offer to provide him with a secure egress from the premises, and did not warn plaintiff that he was being openly stalked by two suspicious persons."

The suit, filed in St. Louis County on June 10, alleges Myers was followed home late at night on April 12, 2009 by two people after the casino got him a taxi cab. Myers was then robbed and shot by two assailants.


Suspect arrested in Lumière Place garage carjacking


ST. LOUIS • A suspect has been arrested in a carjacking overnight in the parking garage of Lumière Place casino downtown, police say.

The 21-year-old victim told police he had gone to get something from his car, a 2007 Mercedes S550 about 11:35 p.m. Tuesday at the casino garage, 999 N. Second Street. He saw a man get out of another car and walk toward him carrying a gun.

The gunman told the victim to put his belongings, including the keys to his car, in a bag. He followed the gunman's orders.

When the gunman saw a security officer, he put the gun in his pocket and told the victim to walk toward the elevators.

The gunman got into the victim's Mercedes and drove away. The victim told the security officer what had happened, police say. The victim was not injured.

The gunman was described as a black man, about 30 years old, 5-foot-8, 180 pounds, with a dark complexion and short black hair. He was wearing a black coat and dark pants and was armed with a small black handgun.

Police had no description of a man who was driving the car the suspect arrived in, possibly a Pontiac.

Wednesday afternoon, police said they had arrested a 21-year-old suspect, believed to have been the driver of the car used in the robbery. The gunman has not been arrested.

Slot Barn funds effort to reduce crime around property

Mounted cameras assist St. Louis police with plate searches
Written by Patrick O'Connell
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

St. Louis -- As officer Bob Bates maneuvers his patrol car south on Jefferson Avenue, the computer mounted on the center console lets out a series of high-pitched tones.

Bates' eyes are locked on the road, but a high-tech system installed in the squad car is focused on the license plates of the vehicles around him.

Ping. Ping. Ping.

With each passing car, the computer registers a license plate number. Tiny cameras mounted atop the patrol car snap photos of each plate, feeding information into the computer.

While Bates changes lanes, the computer is checking to see if the car in front of him has been reported as stolen, is connected to a felony crime or is the focus of a search by police across the country.


St. Louis police will soon have the "automated license plate recognition system" technology installed in three department squad cars.



The first system was paid for by Lumiere Place in an effort to help cut down on car-related crimes -- a common problem -- around the casino.