Is there a future for casino gaming?
Tuesday, May 12, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Fox St. Louis…
East St. Louis was financially struggling before the coronavirus crisis but now things are worse. It is no longer getting tax revenue from its biggest source of income, the Casino Queen.
The city received some $700,000 from the casino. But the boat is now closed along with most of the businesses in the city because of the measures put in place to curb the spread of COVID-19.
For East St. Louis, the situation is dire. It closed the city hall and changed work schedules to save money.
* QC Times…
The city of Rock Island is losing more than $347,000 per month in gaming revenue from the closing of Jumer’s Casino and Hotel due to the coronavirus pandemic.
* Patch…
Since the pandemic, Joliet’s revenue resources have dried up at an alarming rate, city officials have said.
The two casinos, Harrah’s and Hollywood Casino Joliet, generate $1.38 million in gaming tax revenue for Joliet’s monthly coffers. Both casinos have been shut down since March 16.
* And that brings us to this story by A.D. Quig…
“I figure as of today, the casinos have lost over $100 million just in revenue, not counting virus-related expenses,” Illinois Casino Gaming Association Executive Director Tom Swoik said April 30. “The state has lost over $50 million in casino tax revenues, and the local communities where casinos are located, over $10 million in casino tax revenues.”
The uncertainty has likely upended plans for new casinos, too, says a Springfield insider who has worked on gaming issues for nearly a decade but is not authorized to speak publicly.
“Any new project just trying to get off the ground, especially if it relies on existing gaming revenues from other locations, is likely looking at a delayed timeline, if it can move forward at all this year,” he says.
* Meanwhile, the rich get richer…
JP Morgan analyst Joseph Greff [slammed] Gaming & Leisure Properties for reducing the first-quarter dividend (Heaven forfend!) but praised it for “taking practical steps to work with its tenants on rent relief.” One of those tenants is GLPI’s own Casino Queen in East St. Louis, whose rent was waived. Boyd Gaming and Pinnacle Entertainment leases are on the table right now and are expected to be slightly reduced, in light of current events. Eldorado Resorts‘ master lease re-sets in October, with or without Caesars Entertainment, so what happens there will clearly depend on the state of the economy come autumn.
Cannily, GLPI may trade rent waivers for greater equity stakes in its tenants. “GLPI’s primary goal currently is getting properties re-opened (when permitted) and ramped, after which the Board could revisit the dividend and potentially look at M&A opportunities,” adds Greff. Revenue of $283.5 million missed Greff’s $292.5 million estimate, largely due to the closures of wholly owned Hollywood Perryville and its Baton Rouge casino. Despite that disappointment, where its tenants are concerned, GLPI is clearly in the driver’s seat.
* Related…
* Indiana casinos expected to remain closed until at least mid-June
- Dotnonymous - Tuesday, May 12, 20 @ 12:56 pm:
Those who exploit human greed…create karmic debt…payback time.
- Altgelds Ghost - Tuesday, May 12, 20 @ 1:02 pm:
The greed and self-interest demonstrated by Neil Bluhm, Churchill Downs, and the Rivers team is so shameful that I hope they do not survive and the state comes in and takes over operations of casinos and sports betting.
Bluhm has amassed a fortune of more than 4 Billion, making most of his money from real estate and gaming operations in Illinois. Churchill Downs, which owns Arlington Park and 1/2 of Rivers DesPlaies paid its CEO more than 21 million in 2018.
Yet these greedy oligarchs furloughed 1442 of 1493 employees in Desplianes in early April. Bluhm decided to let the state unemployment pay his workers because he couldn’t afford it. The same goes for the Churchill CEO.
I’m sure they haven’t fired their lobbyists and PR flacks.
Bluhm could have paid every employee $1,000 a week for 10 weeks to sustain them while they waited, it would have cost less than $15 million. Nothing to a billionaire who cares about his state and its people. Instead, he gives it top the politicians so that they will bail him court and allow him to screw the workers who built his fortune.
Shame on Neil Bluhm and the oligarchs who take, take take, and then hide in their penthouses during a crisis.
The state should end the protection Rivers received in the sports betting bill and let Draft Kings and Fan Duel compete immediately when sports returns.
- Sox Fan - Tuesday, May 12, 20 @ 1:04 pm:
I visit casinos six or seven times a year. I have a hard time seeing myself returning until a vaccine is found. There is just no way for them to keep those places safe
- drudge - Tuesday, May 12, 20 @ 1:12 pm:
good thing they legalized weed… pandemic proof revenue. sports bets could have been placed remotely, but no sports to bet on. maybe before too long. time to legalize more drugs?
- Drake mallard - Tuesday, May 12, 20 @ 1:13 pm:
Make internet poker for real money legal and have each individual State take a rake from the amount played in that state
- Cirion - Tuesday, May 12, 20 @ 1:17 pm:
What a bad mix casinos and this virus is. Both thrive on close proximity and constant touching. It may not affect machines in bars and restaurants as much. They could probably be controlled but these large venues will be terrifying for highly at risk customers.
- Responsa - Tuesday, May 12, 20 @ 1:18 pm:
Well there goes all that hoped for revenue from out of town conventioneers venturing out at night to gamble.
- Pot calling kettle - Tuesday, May 12, 20 @ 1:22 pm:
New slogan: “Show us you are a real gambler.”
- XonXoff - Tuesday, May 12, 20 @ 1:30 pm:
…a future? Sure. Because, gamblers.
- iggy - Tuesday, May 12, 20 @ 1:32 pm:
I’ll be at the horseshoe in Hammond the day it re opens. I suspect I’ll visit the Harrah’s in Joliet in about a year when the Gov. says they can re open.
- Annonin - Tuesday, May 12, 20 @ 1:33 pm:
Talk about awful timing
Since gathering at a casino could be a thing of the past how about going for sports betting — on line and at the video poker dens?
- Bruce (no not him) - Tuesday, May 12, 20 @ 1:41 pm:
there had better be a future. The state’s budget depends on it
- southsider - Tuesday, May 12, 20 @ 1:42 pm:
== sports bets could have been placed remotely, but no sports to bet on ===
Actually that’s not the case. You cannot simply pull out your phone and start betting. You have to sign up onsite at a casino. Even if sports returns in June or July, the State will not make a penny from sports betting because the casinos are closed.
- AD - Tuesday, May 12, 20 @ 1:50 pm:
Agreed with Drake. Make online poker and casino games legal and have them well regulated. Make daily or monthly limits on how much someone can deposit into online accounts.
- Fly like an eagle - Tuesday, May 12, 20 @ 1:55 pm:
Horse racing outside maybe at some point.
- Can - Tuesday, May 12, 20 @ 2:07 pm:
It would be nice if Illinois horse racing tracks could race spectator-less starting on June 1. Most people bet and watch the races online anyway. Also, the backstretch workers have been feeding, exercising and bathing the horses stabled at the tracks this whole time. Might as well let them race.
- Commonsense in Illinois - Tuesday, May 12, 20 @ 2:20 pm:
Poor casino owners…/s/
I don’t think they’ve missed many meals since this began.
- Streator Curmudgeon - Tuesday, May 12, 20 @ 2:24 pm:
Slot machines in Porta-potties. There, fixed it for ya.
- AndyIllini - Tuesday, May 12, 20 @ 2:32 pm:
Legalized online poker would be a nice start towards making up some of this list revenue.
- Chatham Resident - Tuesday, May 12, 20 @ 2:35 pm:
=”Slot machines in Porta-potties. There, fixed it for ya.”==
With winners “paid” in toilet paper.
- Siualum - Tuesday, May 12, 20 @ 2:51 pm:
If gaming revenue is down $100 million, doesn’t it mean that that money is still in possession of all the folks that can’t gamble? And being spent on groceries and other things? There is, though, the unemployment problem and tax shortfalls because of gaming shutdown.
- Huh? - Tuesday, May 12, 20 @ 2:53 pm:
I suppose a better question would be - Will any industry that involves close in person contact with the general public and employees survive the covid19 crisis?
Bars/Restaurants
Plays/opera/concerts
Casinos/OTB/horse racing/
Commodity exchanges
Auto racing/professional sports
I posit that these industries will try to reopen and operate but will suffer from a lack of clientele for fear of contracting the disease.
- larry saunders - Tuesday, May 12, 20 @ 3:39 pm:
Still waiting for the State to wake up and legalize online casino gaming and then keep the revenues for itself by keeping it a state operation and restricting brick-and-mortar casinos to live gaming. it wouldn’t be that hard for the state to set-up online, and it’s the only new revenue source likely to materialize of any importance.