Two Hollywood Casinos to Relocate
Penn Entertainment’s plans two suburban Chicago casinos, Hollywood Casino Aurora and Hollywood Casino Joliet, are set to move.
Totalling over $500m, the two developments will boast 1,700 slots and 95 tables, a 200-room hotel, baccarat room, and two event centres.
ILLINOIS OPERATOR NEWS
Te Illinois Gaming Board (IGB) has approved plans for Penn Entertainment’s plans to move its two suburban Chicago casinos, Hollywood Casino Aurora and Hollywood Casino Joliet, to make them more accessible.
Hollywood Casino Aurora will relocate from its site on a downtown island in the Fox River to a land-based location near the Chicago Premium Outlets mall and the Fermilab campus. Te $360m development will have a casino with 900 slots and 50 tables, along with a 200-room hotel, bars and restaurants, meeting space, and an event center.
Hollywood Casino Joliet, currently on a riverboat on the Des Plaines River southwest of Will County city, will move to a $185m land-based casino in the Rock Run Crossings development at the intersection of Interstates 80 and 55.
Te casino will boast 800 slots and 45 tables, including a baccarat room, a Barstool Sportsbook, bars and restaurants, meeting space, and an event centre.
“Today’s approval of the relocation proposals for
the Hollywood Aurora and Hollywood Joliet Casinos are a significant step in the regulatory process to bring new gaming venues to these host communities,” said IGB Administrator Marcus D. Fruchter.
“Te IGB will work with Penn Entertainment as it moves through the regulatory process to ensure these relocated casino venues are constructed, opened and operated in an efficient, ethical and compliant manner.”
Te IGB has adopted a new rule requiring responsible gambling signage at all video gaming locations statewide, granted more than 400 new gaming licenses and related approvals along with renewals of existing licenses, issued a license to sportsbook operator Circa Sports, and adopted a rule clarifying video gaming annual fees.
Illinois is home to 12 casinos, more than 8,300 licensed video gaming establishments and nine sportsbooks. Casino gambling, video gaming and sports wagering generated more than $1.4bn in tax revenue to the state and local communities in calendar year 2022.
Te Bahamas Bahamas may open gaming floors to local players
Casinos in the Bahamas may be able to welcome local players for the first time with the proposal to open in the gaming floor to natives now very much on the table. Deputy Prime Minister Chester Cooper said the proposals to change Te Bahamas’ gaming laws will be debated over the ‘next several months’.
He said, as reported by the Tribune: “In Te Bahamas there are two sectors of gaming – casino gaming and what we refer to as gaming houses. Both sectors attract different clientele. But casino players are often looking for more high-end bets with greater stakes, and more modest players being able to turn comparatively small bets into exponentially higher wins, but both niches of the gaming sector serve their clientele well.
“However, there is a need to ensure that both sectors are performing at their peak. Number house gaming
was born of innovation, and great buy-in was given by the leaders in that industry to ensure a revolutionary Bill was passed by the Government. But the barriers between these two sectors are growing thinner and may one day fall away.
“In recent years, our Gaming Board has been tasked with reviewing and modernising our current gaming laws to ensure that they remain relevant and effective. And, over the course of the next several weeks and months, we will continue to review the recommendations from the Board, and feedback from the stakeholders in the industry, to determine what future adjustments and amendments we will make in our current legislative framework.
“Younger demographics will still be drawn to the casino experience, but significant numbers will drift towards online gaming and sportsbooks.”
Alberta
Century Casinos has entered into a definitive agreement for subsidiaries of VICI Properties to acquire the real estate assets of Century Casino & Hotel Edmonton, Century Casino St. Albert and Century Mile Racetrack and Casino in Edmonton, Alberta and Century Downs Racetrack and Casino in Calgary, Alberta for an aggregate purchase price of $164.4m.
Simultaneous with the closing of the transaction, the Century Canadian Portfolio will be added to the existing triple-net master lease agreement between subsidiaries of VICI and subsidiaries of the company and annual rent will increase by $12.8m, representing an implied acquisition capitalisation rate of 7.8 per cent. Te property- level rent coverage ratio under the Master Lease is expected to be approximately 2.0x on a 15- year initial base term.
NEVADA - With Macau returning to profitability and Wynn Las Vegas enjoying a record quarter and month, Wynn Resorts’ CEO Craig Billings has said it is a ‘fascinating time’ to be in the casino business.
Operating revenues were $1.42bn for the first quarter of 2023, an increase of $470.3m, from $953.3 million for the first quarter of 2022. For the first quarter of 2023, operating revenues increased $145.6m, $206m, $95.6m, and $25.5m at the company’s Las Vegas Operations, Wynn Palace, Wynn Macau, and Encore Boston Harbor, respectively.
MASSACHUSETTS – DraftKings has reported revenue of $770m, for the three months ended March 31, an increase of 84 per cent compared to $417m during the same period in 2022. This was driven primarily by efficient acquisition of new customers, product innovation driving higher hold percentage, decreased promotional intensity in more mature states, and customer retention.
As such, DraftKings is raising its fiscal year 2023 revenue guidance to a range of $3.135bn to $3.235bn from the previous range of $2.85bn to $3.05bn.
NEBRASKA – WarHorse Gaming, a subsidiary of Ho-Chunk, has announced plans to begin construction on its new gaming facilities in Omaha and continue with the next phase of construction at its Lincoln facility. WarHorse Gaming Omaha will feature roughly 1,300 slots and 20 tables games once complete, of which more than 800 will be available when the first phase of the casino opens about a year after the start of construction. The buildout also includes a parking garage that can accommodate all phases of the casino.
WarHorse Gaming Lincoln’s next phase of construction will begin shortly after the Omaha facility’s construction starts. The expansion will double the size of the current facility and add an additional 500 parking stalls at the casino and racetrack. The expanded facility will feature 870 slot machines, six to ten table games, and an expanded dining area for customers.
CALIFORNIA – The new Eagle Mountain Casino near the Porterville Airport celebrated its grand opening in May, replacing the original Eagle Mountain Casino which previously operated on the Tule River Tribe reservation since 1996.
The new casino property has doubled in size, growing to over 100,000 square feet, featuring new dining options, 1,,750 slot machines, 20 table games, and a 2,000-seat state-of-the-art event centre. The Tule River Tribe recently celebrated their 150th anniversary.
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