Midwest Gaming Journal

Smoke Are Cheaper in Indiana

Here's some more depressing news from the G2E:

"In the Land of Lincoln, gaming revenue has trended downward all year, including a 25.6 percent drop year over year in October, said Wes Ehrecke, president of the Iowa Gaming Association.

Illinois' decline has happened even as gaming revenue in neighboring Iowa, where there's no smoking ban in casinos, rose or stayed steady from January to October, Ehrecke said."

Why are we listening to this guy from Iowa (I don't trust people from Iowa in general), doesn't the Illinois Gaming Association have anything to say about getting crushed since the smoking ban? Either gamblers really like to smoke, or the tobacco tax is too high in Chicago and its making the nicotine freaks chose between buying a pack or hitting the boats. 

Yes Kansas You Will Have Gambling...Maybe

Despite gloomy casino forecasts coming out of the Global Gaming Expo is Las Vegas this week, and the announcement that two of the four developers for Kansas' state controlled casino have backed out sighting the cash crunch, there's still hope for those casinos to get up and running sooner than later.

Bad Deal for Harrah's in Kansas

Citing a bad economy, Harrah's is pulling out of a deal to run a casino in Kansas. Recently, a vote passed to allow a few government run casinos in the state. This slip up by one of the world's largest casino operators has prompted veteran casino scribe Rick Alm to once again question the effectiveness of state run gambling halls.

Breaking News: "Casino" Protagonist is a Pidgeon

For my money, the best movie about Las Vegas is Casino. It's the fictionalized story of Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal (played by Robert DeNiro) and Anthony Spilotro (Joe Peche's character). Both of whom got their real-life mob careers started in Chicago. The only thing that's true about the movie is Spilotro and his brother getting beaten with baseball bats and buried in a field in Indiana. Little else is accurate, but it's still a great movie.

Rosenthal died two weeks ago, and now law enforcement officers are coming forward saying he was a top level informant. That's right, he was one of the biggest snitches in history. I sure hope they make a movie about this part of his career.

Seinors United For Gambling

From GreenfieldNOW.com:

United Seniors of Wisconsin, a nonprofit group that raises money by holding bingo games, wants to add video poker machines to help improve its fundraising abilities.

The article goes on to say some nights the bingo games make $10, and partially blames Potowatomi Bingo Casino in Milwaukee for the financial woes. It's true, the bingo hall at Potowatomi is normally busy - filled with menthol smoke and blipping devices for those that don't like to keep track of their numbers with a giant red pen. Backed by a full blown and recently improved casino, I can see how they'd cut a bit into their business. But bingo ain't the money maker it used to be. A handful of video poker machines could buy them a truckload of hip-replacements and portable oxygen tanks - every week. I kid, but seriously, those things make a lot of cash.

Voting on Loss Limits

Gambling in Missouri can be a pain in the ass because of their screwy loss-limit rule which attempts to prevent gamblers from losing $500 in a 2-hour period. Yes, "attempts" because crafty gamblers can easily skirt this silly and ineffective rule.

Coming up on the Missouri ballot in the upcoming election voters can repeal the law, but not if Illinois has anything to say about it.

The dichotomy the casino industry presents - supporting their own gaming interests while aligning with anti-gambling groups squash competitors - is confusing. This attitude has also crossed the tribal lines. The Milwaukee Potowatomi casino is lobbying against a Kenosha casino that would apparently really help the Wisconsin tribe. The Menomonees have even started their own blog about the issue.

Mistakes On the Lake

The casino industry has fought for years to assuage those that think gambling halls are run by thugs and crooks. Then stuff like this pops up.

The Indiana Supreme Court has been called in to find out if $16-million that the Ameristar casino in East Chicago, IN paid to a private business is legit.

Millions of dollars intended goes missing in corporations all the time because of nefarious activities. But the casino industry has been in a long battle to prove it is a legitimate business. It's funny though: Getting rid of the mob and gangster run casinos from the Vegas olden days and turning them into tightly run corporate organizations that now blanket the country has made them more suspicious. Gone are the days of back room beatings and tables that can't be beat, replaced with  6-5 blackjack and $150 tickets to see mega-douche Chriss Angel. Which is worse?

Get Out To Vote

Among the important issues to be decided this November, Ohio residents will vote on whether or not to allow the Midwest's biggest casino to set up shop near Cincinnati.

There's a lot of stuff out there to help you make your mind...or just find out more about the sometimes thorny issue:

Cincinnati.com says, among other things, analysts may be off in projecting how much a casino in Southwest Ohio will make with competition from Indiana.

Vindy.com does a nice job laying out the players in the pro-/con- casino movement.

The Akron Beacon Journal shows how the politics of the region are playing into the battle for the state's first casino.

Smoke On The Water

Gambling revenues have been down on Illinois riverboats since the smoking ban went into effect last year. In this crappy economy some say the smoking issue at casino should be revisited.

While I don't mind the smoking ban, I do think it's silly, but many of the laws pertaining to gambling are. I actually kind of like the smell of smoke and chilled air blown out of a 1,000 vents.

Setting The Line For the 10th License

 It's a little strange because gaming companies - especially the big ones - are not doing well on Wall Street right now. I know, everyone's suffering, but casino stocks have been among the biggest losers. But rumors of the Green Giant entering the Chicago market have been circling for a while. There was a lot of speculation MGM would buy Don Barden's barges in Gary, hopefully resurrecting the no-longer majestic Majestic Star boats to what they once were. Now they've offered the state $435 million to build a casino in Illinois.

MGM outbid 6 other groups, the next highest offer was $225 million coming from a group lead by the former owner of Sportsman's Park. Even that bid is higher than expected.

MGM's Kirk Kekoiran and his right-hand man Alex Yemenidjian are no dummies. Even as their company's value has plummeted, they've done a good job staying out of debt. Their most masterful move was selling off part of their City Center project to investors from Dubai long before the market showed weakness.

Apparently they feel the Chicago market is largely untapped. Most of the  area casinos are still making money, albeit at a slower pace than last year. The more dilapidated boats aren't doing so well (read: Ameristar), while the newer joints are making lots of cash (Horseshoe/Four Winds). Putting a fancy casino near the Indiana border should keep a lot of Chicagoans off the Skyway.

With a big corporation willing to dump this much cash into a new venture, is this a sign our economy is on an up-swing? Or do people in Chicago just like to gamble a lot?

Hoosier Declines

This is from an Indianapolis TV station:

New figures released by the state's gaming commission show that more people are continuing to hold onto their money and making fewer trips to that state's 13 casinos.

A $31 million drop in state taxes collected by Indiana's gaming industry in July over June was quickly dismissed by industry experts

Casinos are a major source of tax revenue for the state and according to the industry, losing more middle income gamblers.

It's hard to be a recreational gambler these days. With traffic, work and gas prices a trip to the boat has to be worth it. With slots that payout 91%, 8-deck blackjack that doesn't allow surrender, and ever-changing comp policies I think most people are saying a trip to the boat isn't worth it in this economy.

A few years ago I was saw Suzie Orman on The View (that could be the most embarrassing thing I've admitted to publicly). She was talking about hybrid cars. She said the government shouldn't make automobile manufactures produce these cars. Instead, let the market dictate its necessity. Now, every car maker has a hybrid model. This is how I've felt about casinos tightening their slots and comps: It sucks, but what are you going to do - not gamble? It will eventually change.

How are Midwest casinos going to entice people to start gambling again? That could come in the form of better machine pay-out and changes to table game rules.

Don't Bet On PokerTek

PokerTekhas expanded in the Midwest. After having a dealer-less and chip-less poker room at the Four Winds Casino, the new Horseshoe has put in a pair of tables.

The electronic poker tables are located just outside the new poker room in the Horseshoe. They seem to be there as a novelty, to get passers-by interested in cards. Most poker novices are less intimidated by the e-tables because there's no chance of acting out of turn or making the wrong bet. With the reception the new poker room has gotten I'd be surprised to see the PokerTek tables expand beyond the entrance.

They may not be around that much longer, anyway. A year ago their stock prices was three times what it is today.

They Will Come If You Build It

From the Dayton Business Journal:

 MyOhioNow.com has submitted nearly double the amount of signatures required to put its $600 million casino initiative on the November ballot, the group said.

Beachwood-based MyOhioNow on Tuesday turned 800,000 signatures over to Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner.

Spreading idiology via the internet is nothing new. Rousting up public support for a casino through an offical "I want a casino near me!" website is new...to me, anyway. Does this surprise me? No way. I mean, Norml and NAMBLA each have websites that tacitly urge public acceptance.

Most Amerincas want a casino within driving distance. MyOhioNow.com appears to be a site that gives rise to a public ill in Ohio: There are no casinos in the entire state! (Why on earth would anyone want to live in such an oppressive region is beyond me.) I could send an email to  Rick Lertzman, who heads MyOhioNow with Brad Pressman, and ask if they're tied in with  Minneapolis-based Lakes Entertainment Inc., but I'm just going to assume they are.  The site is merely a means to show the state a majority of its residents support a casino.

So really, Ohio get with the program, and stop acting like Utah. 

Share The Wealth

The Petoskey News-Review reported: "The Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians announced the distribution of their twice a year 2 percent gaming revenue allocation to local government."

The majority of Native American casino don't have to disclose their gambling revune. Commercial casinos have to report the cash comings and goings on each table and machine.

But you don't have to be a math major to figure that if 2% of the GTB of Ottawas and Chippewas gaming profits is $720K then they made $36 million. Not a bad 6 months. 

Meanwhile, the Saul Ste. Marie band of Chippewas is laying off 2% of it's work force at Detriot's Greektown casino.

I don't know if the two Chippewa bands are related, but somebody needs to help Greektown out. Although it's usually tougher to get a relative to help you out of a financial jam than a friend.

When a casino is introduced to a community, it's not long before the income from gaming becomes a way of paying the city's bills. So when a casino sees a dip in profits, so does the city. The difference is usually made up in taxes. And high taxes suck.

Indian casinos are different because they distribute their earnings differently: At their own discression. Technichally, the casino owners can keep all of the profits, but they all give money back to the comminuty voluntairly.

But they won't help each other out - not even if they're in the same state and from the same tribe.

It's Just a Pepsi

The only thing I remember about my last visit to the Horseshoe casino in Hammond, IN was the passed out guy who had wet himself. He was slumped on a bench by the parking garage escalators.  I'm pretty sure I lost some money, and the casino was as dumpy (or dumpier) as its Gary counterparts, but the 60 year old mill worker that had pissed through his work jeans stuck with me more than anything else. That was 10 years ago, and I vowed never to return. That changed today.

When the top of my Pepsi came off as I went for sip, soaking my lap, I thought of that pee drenched fellow from a decade ago. I hoped my assumed accident wouldn't turn future gamblers away. But today I could have smeared a melted Hershey bar on the rear of my trousers and people would have had no problems sidling up to me if it meant getting into the new $550 million casino.

The Horseshoe's website says the opening of the new and improved casino is slated for August 8th (8-8-08). Today was their "soft" opening. I've never understood this "soft" terminology. These things are always more rough. The past few days have been no exception. This opening was supposed to have been this weekend, a minor construction accident pushed it back to Monday. More gaffes pushed it back to today. I'd heard the opening would be noon, but when I arrived at 12:30 a security guard told me gambling wouldn't start until 3. The inspectors were running late.

Talk amongst the people waiting for the elevator was when was this thing opening? Noon? Three? Today? Tomorrow? 8-8-08? A yellow helmeted construction worker shrugged, "I don't know why they're not letting you on."

There are four restaurants on the second floor, just the grill was open. I got a cheeseburger and the infamous lose-lid soda. Watching the throngs of people flow from the parking garage, and waiting for my cargo pants to dry, I wondered if our economy is really that bad. Hundreds of people have enough disposable income and time to wait around for three hours so they can dump a few bucks into a Top Gun slot machine.

If you don't like the design of the pavilion you can blame Steve Wynn. There are hints of the Bellagio and Wynn. A lot of mellow toned wood and funky light fixtures.Yet there's also a striking similarity to the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace - makes sense since that's a Harrah's property.  The Jack Binion Steak House is on the third floor and shares the same view as the buffet a floor below: Overlooking a beach, that was packed on this 90-degree July day. Despite the gray steel mills looming behind, it looked inviting.

The friendly Horseshoe staff gave out water, cookies, and updates on when cards would be in the air. The crowd grew exponentially larger as three o'clock approached. It never got unruly or unpleasant, but I felt uncomfortable. Nothing could be worth this wait.

I left around 2:15. I didn't feel like standing shoulder to shoulder with people who were more concerned with tossing dice than if I had pissed myself. Besides the beach looked a lot more fun.