Gambling in the USA
Hedge-funder Soo Kim Scoops Up 3 Casinos on Low Price
Soo Kim, co-founder of hedge-fund giant Standard General, has scooped up three casinos on the cheap since the pandemic struck in March. Kim sees more such opportunities opening up as the pandemic drags on, squeezing gambling houses loaded down with debt.
The three acquired casinos are Bally’s Atlantic City Hotel & Casino, Eldorado’s namesake property in Shreveport, and Eldorado’s Montbleu in Lake Tahoe. Bally’s Atlantic City Hotel & Casino was acquired for $25 million and Eldorado’s properties for $155 million.
“A lot of casino companies, due to their balance sheets going up too high, are in tough shape now and are not prepared to take advantage of this regional opportunity,” Soo Kim said.
“We are one of the few that have scale and a good balance sheet,” he said of Twin River Worldwide Holdings.
Twin River, based in Lincoln, RI, now owns 10 gambling properties across six states, as well as a horse racetrack with 13 authorized off-track betting licenses in Colorado.
It acquired three of those properties in April as casino giants Caesars Entertainment and Eldorado Resorts scrambled to sell assets to close on a planned $17 billion merger.
Twin River paid just 3.6 times earnings for the three venues, or roughly the cost of the real estate, Kim says.
“The price we offered was really low. Even if these casinos are closed for two years, it’s a good deal,” he said.
While Caesars and Eldorado sold to win regulatory approval for their merger, the coronavirus also played a role, experts said, noting that the Shreveport property was on track to fetch as much as $230 million in January before the deal fell through.
The three Detroit casinos reported $123.86 million in monthly aggregate revenue (AGR) for the month of March 2024, of which $122.26 million was generated from table games and slots, and $1.6 million from retail sports betting.
The March market shares were:
- MGM, 46%
- MotorCity, 31%
- Hollywood Casino at Greektown, 23%
Monthly Table Games, Slot Revenue, and Taxes
March 2024 table games and slot revenue increased 3.8% when compared to March 2023 revenue. March’s monthly revenue was 16.7% higher than February 2024. From Jan. 1 through March 31, the Detroit casinos’ table games and slots revenue decreased by 1.6% compared to the same period last year.
The casinos’ monthly gaming revenue results were mixed compared to March 2023:
- MGM, up 4.1% to $56.65 million
- MotorCity, up 7.2% to $38.35 million
- Hollywood Casino at Greektown, down 1.4% to $27.26 million
In March 2024, the three Detroit casinos paid $9.9 million in gaming taxes to the State of Michigan. They paid $9.5 million for the same month last year. The casinos also reported submitting $14.5 million in wagering taxes and development agreement payments to the City of Detroit in March.
Monthly Retail Sports Betting Revenue and Taxes
The three Detroit casinos reported $17.25 million in total retail sports betting handle, and total gross receipts were $1.61 million for the month of March. Retail sports betting qualified adjusted gross receipts (QAGR) in March were up by 13.2% when compared to the same month last year. Compared to February 2024, March QAGR was up by $1.7 million.
March QAGR by casino was:
- MGM: $327,857
- MotorCity: $538,988
- Hollywood Casino at Greektown: $731,389
During March, the casinos paid $60,413 in gaming taxes to the state and reported submitting $73,838 in wagering taxes to the City of Detroit based on their retail sports betting revenue.
Fantasy Contests
For February 2024, fantasy contest operators reported total adjusted revenues of $405,342 and paid taxes of $34,049.
Gambling in the USA
IGT Wheel of Fortune and Powerbucks Slots Award Monumental Million-Dollar-Plus Jackpots in March
International Game Technology PLC (IGT) announced that its Wheel of Fortune and Powerbucks slots awarded four life-changing jackpots totaling more than $5 million in March.
Lucky slots players won the following million-dollar-plus jackpots last month:
- On March 8, a Wheel of Fortune slots player won $1,254,996 playing Wheel of Fortune Triple Gold Gold Spin at Beau Rivage Resort & Casino in Biloxi, Miss.
- On March 12, a Wheel of Fortune slots player won $1,635,694 playing Wheel of Fortune Triple Gold Gold Spin Megatower at The Venetian Resort Las Vegas in Nevada.
- On March 22, a Powerbucks slots player won CA$1,485,994 playing Wheel of Fortune Lucky Coins On Stage at Chances Casino Kelowna in British Columbia, Canada.
- On March 30, a Wheel of Fortune slots player won $1,172,262 playing Wheel of Fortune Gold Spin Triple Red Hot 7s at the California Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nev.
IGT Powerbucks slots have paid 56 jackpots of $1 million or more since their Canadian debut in 2016. Wheel of Fortune slots have minted over 1100 millionaires and awarded over $3.5 billion in jackpots since their launch in 1996.
Gambling in the USA
Play’n GO Announces Expansion of Rush Street Interactive Partnership with Pennsylvania Launch on BetRivers Platform
Swedish gaming giants’ games now live with leading operator Rush Street Interactive Incorporated in Michigan, West Virginia, New Jersey and ‘The Keystone State’
Play’n GO, the world’s leading casino entertainment provider, has today announced further expansion of its partnership with leading United States operator Rush Street Interactive Incorporated (NYSE: RSI) (RSI), which operates the BetRivers platform. The Swedish gaming giant’s content is now available with BetRivers in Pennsylvania.
Play’n GO has already had great success with RSI via the BetRivers brand in Michigan, New Jersey and West Virginia and this expansion sees the partnership extend to a fourth United States state. This announcement follows Play’n GO’s procurement of a Pennsylvania license in March and will see BetRivers players in Pennsylvania gain access to some classic titles from the Play’n GO catalogue including Reactoonz and Boat Bonanza.
Play’n GO is now licensed in six United States states and is aiming to be active in every regulated market in the United States and around the world.
“We’re excited to expand our United States offering into the great state of Pennsylvania and are proud to do so with the innovative and well-respected team at BetRivers, with whom we’ve already enjoyed such great success in recent months,” the North America Commercial Director for Play’n GO, Magnus Natt och Dag, said. “Play’n GO is committed to a safe, sustainable entertainment-led industry and we know that the team at BetRivers shares that same vision.”
“We’re very happy to be expanding our partnership with Play’n Go into Pennsylvania on our BetRivers platform,” the Chief Executive Officer for RSI, Richard Schwartz, said. “Play’n Go has an impressive portfolio of popular titles and we are thrilled to offer our BetRivers PA players its innovative and top-quality games.”
To find out more about working with Play’n GO in the United States and other regulated markets, please visit PlaynGO. com.
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