It’s the Seminoles’ world, we just live in it. That’s more less the conclusion of The Motley Fool’s Jeff Hwang, one of the best gaming-sector commentators out there. He notes that tribal casinos have doubled their revenues since 2006 (much as upstart Mohegan Sun has reached Foxwoods-like proportions over the same time span). Hwang notes that only three non-Vegas, private sector casinos outgross the average take of the top 21 tribal properties and even pairs the Seminoles with another big "S": Station Casinos. If the Seminoles garner as much political clout in Florida as Station has in Nevada, politicos like outgoing Gov. Jeb Bush will continue to blow them off at their own peril.
While we’re at it … given that the company is Station Casinos (i.e., singular), why do some many people persist in referring to it as "Stations"? As in, "Do you think this bid for Stations is going through?" It’s enough to make me tear out what little hair I have left.
Bad news for Harrah’s: No, the special committee didn’t ashcan the Apollo Management/Texas Pacific bid (at least not yet). A New Jersey court has ruled that the state’s fraud laws apply to casinos, too. Which is good news for those customers who are trying to sue Harrah’s for alleged bait-and-switch ploy involving some dishonored coupons back in ‘03-04.
As for that takeover bid, its prospects suddenly aren’t looking so hot, to Wall Street’s understandable dismay. It also looks like the Penn National cash-and-stock bid (and who would trade in HET stock for PENN anyway?) may have been a ploy to get Harrah’s to sell Penn some Atlantic City and Las Vegas casinos, including The Rio. If people thought The Rio went down-market when Harrah’s took over, what would they make of it passing to Penn National’s stewardship?
Chippendales hot, Scintas not: So say consumers, judging from revised ticket prices published by the Las Vegas Advisor. American’s appetite for half-naked men appears unslaked, as The Rio has boosted Chippendales’ ticket prices by as much as $16 (a 28% hike). In case you were worried, half-naked women remain popular, too, judging from a recent price boost for "Bottoms Up" at downtown’s Fitzgeralds, albeit by a more … modest amount.
If a move from The Rio to the Sahara didn’t suggest that Scintamania had peaked, a downturn in their drawing power certainly does. The Scintas, who specialize in cringe-inducing celebrity impersonations, have seen tickets go from three price points to two. The bottom tier ($43) has been eliminated, but prices in the two remaining categories have declined $3-$13 a seat.
And the Golden Nugget’s new showroom continues to struggle: First "Cover Girls" bombed and now admission to "Simply Ballroom" is being whacked by nearly $10 a seat. I missed my chance to see "Simply Ballroom" for free — but if the dancing is only fractionally as bad as the godawful score, even free admission would be too expensive by half.
Better news: "Bite" at the Stratosphere doesn’t appear to be biting: Admission has been upped by $5 a head. But sharply reduced prices (except in the lowest-priced tier, a mere $110.50) for Barry Manilow at the Las Vegas Hilton? Is Vegas still Vegas? Say it ain’t so, Ira!
