Spin Cycle: Silver State Slump, Poker Brat Boycott Highlight Week In Gambling

Welcome to “Spin Cycle,” Casino Reports’ weekly Friday roundup of all things impactful, intriguing, impressive, or idiotic in the gambling industry. Pull up a chair, grab a stack of chips and a glass of your beverage of choice, and take a spin with us through this week’s news cycle …

Drying up in the desert?

The full-year 2024 numbers are in for Nevada’s casinos, and while you could put a “mixed bag” spin on it if you wanted to, it seems overall things are headed in the wrong direction.

On the heels of last week’s Casino Reports feature by David McKee asking whether Vegas is overcharging its way into an eventual recession, the Nevada Gaming Control Board released figures showing net income for the state’s casinos declined 24.4% year-over-year, and it was even worse on the Las Vegas Strip, which saw a 40.4% decline. Revenue was an all-time high, $31.5 billion (hence the “mixed bag” angle). But net income is the more meaningful figure for casino operators, as it accounts for expenses.

A possible sign that the gouging of Vegas visitors for every possible penny is about to start receding? The Palms Casino announced last week that it’s going back to paying 3:2 on blackjacks at all of its tables, instead of the increasingly common 6:5. With a 3:2 payout, the house edge on blackjack is about 0.5%; at a mere 6:5, it’s closer to 2%.

Schedule up and deal!

The World Series of Poker unveiled its full summer event schedule this week, from the $1,000 buy-in Mystery Millions tournament on May 27 through the Main Event final table on July 16.

There are a variety of new and unique events catching people’s eyes, including a “Battle of the Ages” tournament, in which players 50 and over and players under 50 compete in separate starting flights before combining for Day 2; and the first ever T.O.R.S.E. mixed game, which is like H.O.R.S.E. but with triple draw substituting for hold’em.

The buzz over the schedule was mostly drowned out, however, by a video all-time bracelet king Phil Hellmuth posted on social media Tuesday, announcing that he won’t be playing in the Main Event this year because the tournament has become a test of endurance that he doesn’t believe he can win now that he’s 60 years old:

Hellmuth appealed to the WSOP to add more days off, or shorten the length of the playing days (which would in turn lengthen the amount of days it takes to complete the tournament). Social media reaction was passionate, and mixed. Perhaps the funniest post came from Daniel Weinman, who won the Main Event for $12.1 million in 2023:

If indeed “The Poker Brat” skips the Main Event this summer, it means this dream idea for his annual entrance gimmick cannot come true:

One billion dollars …

Big-money mergers and acquisitions are commonplace in the gambling world, but when a purchase is made that’s possibly in excess of $1 billion, it gets our attention.

Light & Wonder announced on Tuesday its acquisition of Grover Gaming, a privately held North Carolina-based company, for $850 million in cash plus up to $200 million more if certain financial milestones are reached.

“Grover Gaming is a leading player in charitable gaming, a category that has experienced significant growth in recent years,” said Light & Wonder CEO Matt Wilson. “This transaction complements our position as the leading cross-platform, global games company by adding another compelling regulated adjacency to our profile.”

Grover has licensed electronic pull-tab games in 12 states plus the Canadian province of Ontario.

Triple shot of Schuetz

What’s better than one gambling column from Richard Schuetz in a week? Two gambling columns from Schuetz in a week, of course. And you can probably guess what’s even better than two gambling columns from Schuetz in a week …

Yes, Richard, a man who has seen and done it all in his many decades in the gaming industry, tapped into his prolific side this week, pumping out three Casino Reports columns:

• One on the value of real journalism as it pertains to Schuetz’s former boss Steve Wynn;
• One making an impassioned plea for the Massachusetts Gaming Commission to dig in following recent serious allegations against DraftKings;
• And Richard’s first-ever traditional sports column, casting an outside-the-box vote for this year’s Super Bowl MVP.

I don’t know much, but I know this: There is no such thing as too much Schuetz. (At least not from an editor’s standpoint. I shouldn’t speak for anyone in Richard’s personal life.)

House Rules: Insights from around our network

BIG BUSINESS: AGA reports record $71.9 billion in gaming revenue for 2024 [by Chris Altruda]

LIEUTENANT DAN’S WAR: Texas Lt. Gov. Patrick, not a fan of couriers, launches investigation after lotto jackpot win [by Jeff Edelstein]

THE SILENCE OF THE LEGISLATURES: The ‘cannibalization’ debate keeps blocking the legalization gate [by Steve Ruddock]

SWEEPS WEEPS: High 5 Casino stops players in legal iCasino states from accessing its app [by Jeff Edelstein]

HARD TO HANDLE: Titus, Reschenthaler again look to repeal sports betting handle tax [by Chris Altruda]

POCKET ROCKET: DraftKings’ Robins celebrates ‘cross-sell’ success of Jackpocket deal [by Eric Raskin]

FLY, OPERATORS, FLY: Pennsylvania iGaming revenue hits $210 million for January, second highest ever [by Chris Altruda]

WAR OF WORDS: Sweeps group claps back at American Gaming Association claims [by Chris Altruda]

SHOW SOME ID: VGW sweepstakes sites are now only available to players 21 and over [by Jeff Edelstein]

CLEARING THE AIR: Two more casinos just went smoke-free, but will any casino smoking bills pass in 2025? [by Matthew Bain]

SILVER LININGS: All that lottery money — where does it go? [by Bill Dettloff]

THE TALKING IS OVER: Written testimony could decide fate of Connecticut lottery and gaming bill [by Chris Altruda]

LITT-IGATION: ‘Abusive’ — the word that may put gambling VIP programs on trial [by Jeff Edelstein]

Small stakes and hot takes

This week on the Casino Reports podcast Low Rollers, my co-host Jeff Edelstein and I welcomed FanDuel Casino Senior Director of Product Ian O’Reilly, in the wake of the operator’s heavily-hyped release of Huff N’ More Puff, to share his insights on exclusive titles, slots marketing, and more. Here’s a taste:

We also covered online casino hopes growing bleak in several states, Vermont trying to put the sports betting toothpaste back in the tube, and more. Full episode:

The Shuffle: Other news and views

GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS: Draftkings posts positive 2024 EBITDA although misses guidance [iGaming Business]

BENEATH THE SEARCH SURFACE: Gambling addiction isn’t surging [Reason]

THE OLD COLLEGE TRY: Responsible Online Gaming Association (ROGA) launches national college education campaign [PR Newswire]

ALOHA MEANS GOODBYE: Hawaii lawmakers puts end to casino gambling bill [KITV]

SB63 IN SIN CITY?: NFL could bring Super Bowl back to Las Vegas soon [Las Vegas Review-Journal]

GIDDY UP!: TwinSpires wins injunction to continue ADW operations in Michigan [Paulick Report]

LET US IN: Gambling trade group seeks invite to feds’ futures trading summit [Sportico]

LOW TIDE: Alabama leaders double down on culture wars while lottery remains in limbo [AL.com]

OBSTACLE COURSE: Manhattan president’s opposition of Wynn’s New York casino is latest hurdle for license bidders [iGaming Business]

The Bonus Round

Completing the Spin Cycle with some odds and ends and our favorite social media posts of the week:

• There are jackpots. And then there are jackpots. One of the latter kind, with italicized font required, hit Sunday at Virgin River Casino & Lodge in Mesquite, Nevada, when a casino guest playing Megabucks Triple Red Hot 7s Spitfire Multipliers game turned a $5 slot spin into $12,371,364.88. The ol’ 2,474,273X win. Solid way to wind down your weekend.

• If you’re going to be a staunchly anti-gambling politician, you may as well lean all the way in, right? Texas state Rep. Matt Shaheen gave this quote to the Dallas Morning News as he stated his intention to prevent sports betting from passing in the Lone Star State: “I have a whole coalition of organizations, and we’re going to make sure it’s dead, that it’s six feet under.” Does this guy know how to party or what?

• A double dose of TV streamer news this week: First, after just two seasons, Max has canceled Bookie, the comedy series in which Sebastian Maniscalco plays … well, a bookie. (I watched the pilot, I’m almost surprised it lasted as long as it did.) And second, MGM Grand Las Vegas’ Netflix-themed restaurant, Netflix Bites, has officially opened. Best name for an item on the menu? We’re torn between Stranger Wings and Orange is the New Mac.

• Good news if you’re a Fanatics customer who had a bet on Victor Wembanyama for Defensive Player of the Year, which he was a lock to win before suffering a season-ending injury: The book is paying out straight bets as winners and refunding all parlays that had Wemby DPOY as a leg. (Don’t worry, I’m not bitter that I placed a sharp bet on Jared McCain for Rookie of the Year at +3000 very early in the season and he was a minus-money shoo-in when he got injured and nobody offered me a payout or refund. Not bitter at all.)