27th
October Biddeford , Maine Source:
Press release
Fortune
Tournament Poker enters testing with GLI
Fortune Entertainment
Corp.(FEC) have announced that their Fortune Tournament Poker System is
about to enter testing with Gaming Labs International.
The company
has also been awarded an initial 90 day suppliers license from the Mille
Lacs Band of Ojibwe Indians in Minnesota. FEC develops and manufactures
propriatary and patented gaming floor products. Fortune Tournament Poker
is a machine and tournament based poker game, which has been legally defined
as a game of skill.
26th
October Quarterly results Source:
Press release
Third
Quarter results continue to be released and we detail some of the most
important statistics from each of the company releases.
Park
Place Entertainment
is ranked number one US casino company based on
gaming floor area. According to the report they have a total 1.4 million
square feet. In more understandable terms this equates to around 20 soccer
pitches. The company also has 23,500 hotel rooms and declares ownership
or an interest in 17 properties in the US, Australia and Uruguay.
PPE generated revenues of $839 million over the last three months. The
top performing casino hotels before all taxes etc. in each of the main
gaming areas being Ballys Park Place, Atlantic City. The Grand Biloxi,
Mississippi and the Bally's/Paris properties in Las Vegas. The average
room rate for Atlantic City was $102 with an occupancy of 98%. The company
is awaiting for approvals for the Ceasars acquisition in Nevada and Mississsippi.
Trump
Hotels and Casino Resorts announced that revenues were $403 million
for the three months ending September 30th. The company operates three
casinos in Atlantic City and the Trump Indiana, a riverboat on lake Michigan.
The flagship Taj Mahal led the field in revenues at $167 million followed
by the Trump Plaza with $117 million. All figures being before taxes etc..
Profits were dented by costs associated with the closing of Trump World's
Fair. The existing property will be demolished and a 4,000 room, 200,000
square foot casino will be build on the 10 acre boardwalk site.
Williams
that for many people is associated more with Pinball machines than slots
has announced that it will discontinue manufacture of the former. Revenues
for the third quarter due to the increasing popularity of its branded slots
increased 135% from $21 to $51 million over the same three months in 1998.
$48 million in revenues was generated by the companies subsidiary WMS Gaming
that actually makes and distributes the slots. The company sold 4,083 video
and reel type slots in the three months. The top earning Monopoly series
introduced 12 months ago earned $15 million from participation and lease
agreements with operators.
At the end of September the company had almost 3,200 Monopoly (reel and
video) slots installed nation-wide.
Mikohn,
another key name in manufacturing and design in the US gaming industry
has also announced increases in revenue, up 35% to $27 million over the
same three months in 1998. Net income being $3.4 million or 31 cents per
share. The company has the Yahtzee branded slot due to roll out with 200
on order since the game was approved in September.
Like WMS Gaming's Monopoly slot series, Yahtzee is also on a licensing
agreement from Hasbro Inc. that owns the trademarks. The company is expected
to start field trials on table games based upon the two popular board games
in a casino on the Las Vegas Strip. Known a few years ago for table and
casino signage the company has and is continuing to diversify its portfolio
of products.
Players
International, in the middle of a take-over from Harrahs Entertainment
has also revealed it's second quarter results. Revenues from the companies
three riverboat properties, located in Illinois, Louisiana and Missouri
were $87 million. The gross figures being almost identical to 1998. The
Metropolis on the Ohio river showed some advances due to the relaxation
of the need by Illinois boats to physically cruise.
The figures translate to average gross revenue for the 3 boats of $80,000
per day.
Argosy
Gaming Company has reported revenues before all taxes etc. of $147
million for the 3 months ended September 30th. The company, like Players
International has three riverboats in three different gaming jurisdictions
as well as a property in Lawrenceburg, Indiana and a majority share in
the Belle of Sioux City in Iowa.
The main property is the Lawrenceburg facility contributing $80 million.
The open boarding policy for the Missouri Riverboat is expected to be approved
in November.
21st
October Detroit Source:
Press release
The legal problems surrounding the opening of Detroits new casinos seemingly
will not go away. The Lac Vieux Desert Band of the Lake Superior Chippewa
Indians has filed a motion in the United States District Court in the Western
District of Michigan.
To keep it simple, the tribe are objecting to the selection procedure and
are now seeking to stop casino gaming in the city. They did not submit
an original application due to these objections. Detroit when the three
presently chosen operators have their properties open is slated to be ranked
No.4 in the US on casino revenues generated.
20th
October Quarterly results Source:
Press releases
Third quarter figures have been released by a number of the key industry
players in the US.
Mirage
Resorts reported total revenues for the quarter of $670 million. Of
this $314 came from gaming operations and $355 million non gaming, hotel,
food and beverage etc.
Table game revenue was $160 million and slots $143 million. Table game
hold was reported at 19.6%. The companies table game hold over the last
three years has been 20%. Occupancy of hotel rooms was 98% with the average
daily rate of $97. During the last year the company opened Bellagio, Las
Vegas on October 15th 1998 and Beau Rivage, Mississippi om March 16th 1999.
Harrahs
Entertainments has reported revenues of $814 million. The 60 year old
company owns or manages 18 facilities in the US as well as the management
contract for Star City, Sydney.
The companies two properties in Atlantic City had combined revenues of
$219 million and chipped in $57 million in operating profit. The highly
popular Rio in Las Vegas had revenues of $113 million and an operating
profit of $19 million.
Boyd
Gaming Corporation has reported revenues of $240 million. Casino revenues
from the companies diverse portflolio contributed $175 million or two thirds
of the total. The change in the law enabling dockside gaming in Illinois
enabled the Par-A-Dice and Silver Star to post strong results. The three
downtown Las Vegas casinos also showed gains.
Aztar
Corporation has reported revenues of $208 million with profits before
all taxes(EBITA) at $45 million. The company has 5 casinos in its portfolio.
Gross revenue from the Tropicana in Atlantic City was $117 million compared
to the Tropicana Las Vegas at $36 million. The other three properties in
Laughlin, Missouri & Indiana produced gross revenues of just over $55
million
After all taxes company profit was $8 million or $0.18 per share.
Lakes
Gaming Inc. has reported gross revenues of $14 million. The company
manages two Indian casinos in Louisiana that were formerly owned by Grand
Casinos.
18th
October California Source:
Press release
Figures
have been released concerning the funding of groups for and against California's
Proposition 5. The law if enacted would have allowed Indian tribes in the
State to open Las Vegas style casinos.
Nevada casinos spent $22 million on the campaign with Mirage resorts chipping
in $10 million. Four other Nevada corporations spent over $1 million. The
Proposition although approved by voters was later over turned 6-1 in the
courts.
18th
October Las Vegas Source:
Press release
Station
Casinos that has among others four properties in Las Vegas, slot route
operations and casinos in Kansas and Missouri has declared its 3rd quarter
results.
Net revenues for the quarter showed an 11% gain to $237 million over the
same period in 1998. Pre EBITDA earnings were $61 million a rise of 20%.
The company is establishing itself in the "locals" market for the
burgeoning Las Vegas population.
14th
October Las Vegas Source:
Press release
Paul-Son
Gaming has announced results for their first quarter. Sales for the three
months were $6,357,000. The company has began to manufacture tables
in its San Lois, Mexico facility, previously the company bought from other
suppliers.
Operating profits were $20,000 against a loss of almost $300,000 in the
same quarter last year.
14th
October Las Vegas Source:
Press release
MGM
Grand Inc. has released it's record breaking third quarter results. Some
of the amazing facts from the report are - MGM City of Entertainment
Las Vegas with over 5,000 rooms had a occupancy of over 99%. Across the
boulevard, New York, New York had an occupancy of 98%. MGM Detroit casino
has averaged over 15,000 customers per day since opening on July 29th.
Net revenues reached $400 million. Operating cash flow (EBITA) hit $124
million. The company now has 3 management contracts in South Africa.
13th
October New York Source:
Bear Stearns report
The
decision by Illinois governor George Ryan to remove on June 26th the requirement
that the states gambling boats should actually cruise has had a dramatic
effect on business. Win per gaming position increased in July and August
by 33.9% and 33.7% respectively.
Missouri that also has relaxed boarding rules saw revenue and attendance
increases by 10% and 45% respectively from mid August to mid September.
12th
October Detroit Source:
Detroit Free Press
The
advantage that the MGM Grand gained by opening in Detroit first looks set
to last until December. In order to get the Motor City Casino open the
partnership of 45% Mandalay Bay, 20% Atwater, and 35% ZRX are having to
shuffle their share ownerships.
Several local investors will be selling their holdings in order to get
the property open at the earliest opportunity.
Partners
to sell casino shares
7th
October Richmond, British Columbia
Source:
Press release
Great
Canadian Gaming with 6 casinos in British Columbia has entered into an
agreement to acquire a 50% stake in SBD, Inc owners of the Riverside casino
in Tukwila, Washington.
The casino had annual revenues last year of US$6.6 million, the second
largest in Washington State.
6th
October Source:
Christian Science Monitor
The
political contributions from companies with gaming interests tripled between
1992 to 1998 to almost $2 million. Other contributions "soft money" has
reached $3.8 million up seven fold over the same period.
The Monitor highlights that with some 260 casinos on Indian reservations
and gross revenues from gambling now well over $50 billion that the industry
has alot of interests to protect and new contracts to be won.
Gambling's
Political Campaign
5th
October New Jersey Source:
Detroit Free Press
"It's
not an epidemic, and these kinds of things were happening downtown before
the casino" was a responce fron the Detroit gaming police spokesman.
The Detroit Free Press reported on some of the problems arising from the
opening of the new MGM casino. Around $10,000 in counterfeit currency has
been detected and a dozen or so individuals caught cheating since the July
29th opening. Also many vehicles have been stolen or broken into whilst
customers are inside the premises.
Casino
cameras look for cheaters
3rd
October New Jersey Source:
Bergen Record
Park
Place Entertainments, the worlds largest casino operator has avoided losing
its gaming licences in Atlantic City. The New Jersey Casino Control Commission
ruled that the companies action in placing the Florida House of Representatives
Speaker on a $240,000 payroll to influence the outcome of the 1994 vote
on legalizing casinos in the state, did not violate New Jersey law.
Casino
keeps license, but ethics questioned
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