Автор: casino

ATLANTIC CITY — The $2.4 billion Revel Casino Hotel that opened just over two years ago as a hoped-for savior for Atlantic City's flagging casino industry will close a week earlier than originally planned, the company announced in an email Friday.

The closing will put about 3,100 people out of work.

The company previously planned to close the casino resort Sept. 10, but announced in the email that the hotel will close at 11 a.m. Sept. 1 and the casino at 5 a.m. Sept. 2. All concerts and events that were scheduled before Sept. 2 will take place as planned, but those scheduled after that date will be canceled, the company said.

"We thank all of our employees for their professionalism, dedication and hard work," the company statement said. "We know that they have provided an outstanding experience for our guests and will continue to do so through this process."

Revel opened in April 2012 as the first new casino in Atlantic City since the Borgata opened nine years earlier, and was seen as the last, best hope to provide a catalyst to jolt what had been the nation's second-largest gambling market back to life. Atlantic City has since slipped to third place behind Nevada and Pennsylvania, whose casinos touched off the New Jersey resort town's revenue and employment plunge in 2007.

Since 2006, when the first Pennsylvania casino opened, Atlantic City's casino revenue has fallen from $5.2 billion to $2.86 billion last year.

So far this year, the Atlantic Club closed in January, bought at a bankruptcy auction by the parent companies of Tropicana and Caesars and shuttered in the name of reducing competition. Caesars Entertainment will close the Showboat on Aug. 31, and Trump Plaza is due to close Sept. 16.

Revel has ranked near the bottom of Atlantic City's casinos in terms of the amount of money won from gamblers since the day it opened.

Its original owners saw it as a luxury resort that just happened to have a casino, but that strategy, as well as the only overall smoking ban in Atlantic City, turned off customers, and Revel filed for bankruptcy in 2013. That led to new ownership and a "Gamblers Wanted" promotional campaign to emphasize the company's new emphasis on its casino.

But despite some improvement, Revel's finances never recovered enough, and it filed for bankruptcy a second time in June.

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — A recently fired casino security guard used his knowledge of when and where large sums of money would change hands to help plan and pull off a daring robbery that netted more than $180,000, authorities said Thursday.

Eight people were arrested in the July 21 gunpoint robbery of Caesars Atlantic City that touched off a three-state manhunt, New Jersey State Police said. The search ended with a Delaware state trooper being shot; the bulletproof vest he was wearing saved his life.

Authorities said Izyiah Plummer, 19, of Atlantic City, pointed a gun at casino employees as he and Aaron Evans, 24, of Pleasantville, grabbed two plastic boxes of cash with more than $180,000 inside. The robbery took place during a routine money exchange at the casino.

They ran outside to a waiting car driven by Nathaniel Greenlee, 21, of Bear, Delaware; and containing passenger Donovan Jackson, 20, of Wilmington, Delaware, authorities said.

Plummer was a security guard who had been fired two weeks earlier, though investigators declined to say why. It was not immediately clear whether any of the suspects had hired lawyers.

At a news conference Thursday in Atlantic City, authorities said the suspects, particularly Plummer, appeared to know exactly what they were doing.

"It seems they had intimate knowledge of what would take place," said New Jersey State Police Capt. Christopher Leone. "They pulled up to a door on a side street not frequently used, and they had detailed knowledge where to look for the money."

Plummer and Evans were in and out of the casino within four minutes, Leone said.

But within hours, detectives came up with the name of at least one of the suspects, aided by a Caesars security guard who recognized one of them, Leone added. The two suspects who grabbed the cash inside the casino were each wearing masks.

All told, authorities have recovered about $150,000 of the stolen cash or merchandise purchased with it, including $50,000 worth of marijuana that was apparently intended for re-sale, high-end jewelry, sneakers and clothing.

Detectives arrested Plummer at his home the day after the heist, along with two 19-year-olds from Pleasantville: Monique Kelly and Dwayne Morgan. Authorities seized $43,000 in stolen cash; .38-caliber rounds and articles of clothing worn by the suspects during the commission of the crime.

On July 23, Evans and Lance Rogers, 20, of Atlantic City, were arrested at their homes. According to detectives, Rogers received stolen currency from Plummer. Investigators said they obtained a search warrant for Evans' residence and seized more stolen cash and various items connecting him to the robbery.

On August 6, state police from New Jersey and Delaware executed a search warrant at Nathaniel Greenlee's residence in Delaware. When Delaware state troopers breached the front door, Nathaniel Greenlee's father, John Greenlee, shot one of them, according to authorities.

John Greenlee was arrested by Delaware State Police. The trooper was released from the hospital that day.

On the same day, detectives discovered that Nathaniel Greenlee was employed by a large retail store in Concord Township, Pennsylvania. They found his car, which is believed to have been used in the crime, at the store and arrested him.

On Aug. 8, Donavon Jackson, 20, of Wilmington, Delaware, was arrested at home. Authorities said they found cash believed to be a part of the stolen currency and property purchased with proceeds from the crime.

On Aug. 13, Myles Coleman, 23, of Atlantic City, surrendered to detectives in Atlantic City. According to detectives, Evans, Greenlee, and Jackson went to Coleman's residence immediately after the robbery.

Plummer, Evans, Jackson and Morgan were being held in the Atlantic County Jail on robbery, assault and weapons charges. Greenlee is awaiting extradition from Pennsylvania on similar charges. The other three suspects were released with a future court date on a charge of receiving stolen property.

AUGUST 13, 2014
echo-entertainment-skycity-casino-revenueAustralian casino operator Echo Entertainment saw profit rise 27.3% in its most recent fiscal year thanks to revenue gains and trimmed expenses. Nearly all the gains were recorded in the second half of the fiscal year ending June 30 as the cost-cutting initiatives put in place by former CEO John Redmond began to take effect on Echo’s performance, particularly at its flagship The Star casino in Sydney. Chairman John O’Neill said Echo had demonstrated “solid momentum” in H2 and it was a good feeling to have closed out the year “ahead of market expectations.”

Normalized revenue grew 3.9% year-on-year to AUD $1.97b (US $1.83b). The final number was entirely due to the 12.8% revenue gain in H2, which offset a 4.8% decline in H1. Revenue at The Star rose 6.8% to $1.3b, which offset a decline at Echo’s Queensland properties, which fell 1.9% to $645.6m. VIP gambling turnover rose 6.5% and VIP revenue rose 6.9% to $472.2m. Overall earnings rose 12.2% to $439.1m while net profit after tax hit $106.3m.

Echo CEO Matt Bekier said the current fiscal year had started much as the past year had finished, “with good momentum in our major properties.” Bekier laid out three priorities for fiscal 2015: (a) continued greater focus on customers and managing expenses, (b) expansion of its Gold Coast property and (c) pissing off those Crown Resorts bastards by winning the Queen’s Wharf Brisbane casino license.

SKYCITY REVENUE FALLS AS VIPS GET LUCKY
Casino operator SkyCity Entertainment Group saw revenue fall 1.9% in its most recent fiscal year. Normalized revenue from SkyCity’s three casinos in New Zealand and two in Australia during the 12 months ending June 30 came to NZD 927.3m ($786.4m) while profit fell 8.1% to NZD 123.2m ($104.5m).

SkyCity’s International (read: Asian VIP) Business saw turnover rise to a record NZD 6.5b, most of which (3.9b) was recorded in H2. Sadly, VIP win rate slipped to 0.97%, well off the 1.35% theoretical rate, but the hefty turnover boost ensured that VIP revenue rose 14.3% to NZD 88m. SkyCity raised its maximum table stake by NZD 50k to NZD 250k in December and the company is confident that the increased turnover will produce boffo revenue once the win rate returns to its theoretical norm. The current fiscal year has already seen turnover of NZD 1b through August 10 with a win of 1.3%.

SkyCity’s flagship Auckland property enjoyed a 3.3% bump in revenue to NZD 533.3m, with gaming revenue up 2.2% to NZD 399.8m. In Adelaide, revenue rose 3.6% to NZD 166.2m thanks to a 95% gain in International Business but the property suffered from ongoing construction efforts that closed as much as one-third of the main gaming floor at any one time. In Darwin, revenue was flat at NZD 133.1m as cost pressures in the local economy kept punters at home.

Looking forward, SkyCity CEO Nigel Morrison has expanded plans for the firm’s New Zealand International Convention Center (NZICC) in Auckland via the addition of a 12-storey 300-room five-star hotel. SkyCity expects the hotel will cost between NZD 170m-180m, which it expects to pay for via cash flow and current funding facilities. The total NZICC project now amounts to NZD 500m+ and SkyCity hopes to execute a construction contract by the end of the current fiscal year.

AUGUST 14, 2014
igt-lt-game-slots-etg-dealGaming device makers International Game Technology (IGT) and Paradise Entertainment Ltd. subsidiary LT Game have announced a new partnership that will allow both companies to expand their operations into new markets. The three-year deal will see IGT distribute LT Game’s live and electronic table games (ETG) systems outside of Asia while LT Game will distribute IGT’s slot machines in Macau. Financial terms were not disclosed.

IGT will serve as exclusive distributor for LT Game products in the US and Canada, while IGT will also enjoy first right of refusal for distribution of LT Game products in Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean and Europe. IGT global sales VP Eric Tom called the alliance “unique to the gaming industry” in its combination of the two firms’ expertise in their respective home markets.

Paradise chairman Jay Chun said the deal “unlocks enormous potential for LT Game in the international market.” Chun has suggested as much as 60% of LT Game’s revenue could come from international markets in 2015. Paradise recently announced that LT Game had received approval from Nevada gaming regulators to install its gear in Nevada casinos.

Chun also said LT Game was “well-positioned to assist IGT in their penetration in the domestic Macau market.” IGT has struggled to expand its Asian footprint, totaling just 3,900 unit sales in the region between 2009 and 2012, and many of those were replacement units. Macau casinos are expected to require an additional 9k slots over the next three years. Chun said the fact that IGT’s end of the deal was focused on slots in Macau meant it wouldn’t be affected by LT Game’s ongoing ETG patent litigation with SHFL Entertainment.

Interestingly, casino operator Las Vegas Sands reportedly served as matchmaker for IGT and LT Game. Chun told GGRAsia that Sands execs brought the two firms together at this February’s ICE confab in London. Chun said “very senior management” convinced the pair that their relative strengths in slots and ETG were complementary and suggested “some strategy to work together.”

Sands has been among the most enthusiastic adopters of LT Game’s electronic baccarat technology, in part as a way of skirting Macau’s infamous gaming table cap. The live- and hybrid-ETG can simultaneously serve dozens of customers while counting as a single table under the cap, which frees up actual tables for VIP and even more profitable premium mass gamblers. Sands’ Palazzo property in Las Vegas also served as the host venue for LT Game’s ETG field trial.

AUGUST 14, 2014
crown-resorts-james-packerAustralian billionaire James Packer (pictured) is smiling broadly after his casino firm Crown Resorts reported a 35% gain in profit during its most recent fiscal year. Normalized profit – calculated by smoothing out the wild volatility associated with VIP gambling – in the 12 months ending June 30 hit AUD 640m (US $595m), of which $291.2m came via Crown’s one-third stake in the Melco Crown Entertainment (MCE) joint venture. MCE’s contribution was up 91.2% year-on-year, reflecting its (until recently) boffo performance in Macau.

By comparison, normalized revenue at Crown’s domestic operations was up a mere 1.4% to $2.8b. While main floor gaming revenue was also up 1.4% to $1.5b, VIP turnover fell 1.5% to $49.9b. Normalized earnings from Aussie operations rose 2% to $803.4m. Crown CEO Rowen Craigie called the FY14 results “satisfactory” given “weak consumer sentiment” in Perth and Melbourne as the local economies continue to experience “structural and cyclical challenges.”

Crown Melbourne reported normalized earnings of $561.8m (+2.8%) as main floor gaming revenue grew 2% to $1b while VIP revenue fell 4.6% to $501.2m. Crown Perth’s normalized earnings were flat at $241.6m despite a win rate of 2.21%, well above the 1.35% theoretical rate. Crown Aspinall’s reported a 5.7% earnings gain to $35.2m.

Crown’s 50% stake in the online betting operations of Betfair Australasia generated a net loss of $3.4m for the year. A day earlier, Crown announced it had paid $10m to buy Betfair’s share of the joint venture, so barring any dramatic turnaround in fortunes, next year’s losses will be all Crown’s.

Crown’s report also acknowledged the $22.5m stake it had acquired in Caesars Growth Partners, which includes the social gaming and real-money online gambling operations of Caesars interactive Entertainment, but Crown declined to share what gains or losses may have been generated via this investment.

Crown said it did not recognize any earnings or receive any profits via its share of the UK-based Aspers Group casino operations, but revealed that the total debt owed to Crown from this relationship was £71.4m as of June 30.

Crown said the capital structure of its new Las Vegas joint venture had yet to be finalized, but Crown expects to have majority ownership. The project on the former site of the New Frontier casino has an estimated budget of between US $1.6b and $1.9b, of which Crown’s total equity investment will range from $400m to $500m.

Crown paid out $23.6m in FY14 to settle legal claims stemming from its failed Fontainebleau Las Vegas casino project. The year also saw Crown splash out $100m to acquire three Bombardier jets to replace its aging Gulfstream models because Asian high-rollers won’t park their posteriors in just any old sky-bus, you know.

AUGUST 15, 2014
caesars-robbers-marijuanaThe gang that robbed Caesars Atlantic City spent their ill-gotten gains on sneakers, bling and hydroponic marijuana. Eight people have now been arrested over the July 21 incident, in which two masked men gained access to a secure area of the casino, pointed a gun at Caesars staffers, then made off with over $180k in cash. Five individuals were arrested within about a week on robbery, assault and weapons charges while three more have now been charged with benefitting from the crime.

New Jersey State Police say they’ve recovered about $150k of the stolen loot, but not before the mugs – including former Caesars security guard Izyiah Plummer – converted at least $50k of it into high-grade reefer which the gang reportedly planned to re-sell. The gang also purchased some high-end watches, athletic shoes and other items of apparel they won’t be allowed to wear in prison.

The investigation and apprehension of the suspects involved police in three different states, and a Delaware State Police officer was shot while executing a search warrant at the house of suspect Nathaniel Greenlee last week. John Greenlee, Nate’s 50-year-old father, apparently fired two rounds from a handgun at one of the officers as they came through the front door. Fortunately, the officer suffered only minor injuries thanks to his body armor. Greenlee Snr. has been charged with reckless endangerment and anything else the cops can think to pin on him.

Meanwhile, the so-called Bellagio Bandit has had a guilty plea entered on his behalf after once again refusing to cooperate with the legal system in Nevada. Scott Carmitchel stands accused of pointing a gun at a Bellagio cashier on the night of July 25 and making off with over $43k in cash. Carmichel was arrested a few days later at the Hard Rock Hotel in Vegas in the company of four prostitutes. Carmitchel wore a spit-shield in its inaugural court appearance following his arrest, apparently unwilling or unable to comply with court orders.

Carmitchel was wheeled back into court on Thursday, still spit-guarded and in no more cooperative a mood. The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that Carmichel declined to respond to any of US Magistrate Judge Nancy Koppe’s questions, except for the odd burst of unexplained laughter. A guilty plea was entered on his behalf and a trial date was set for Sept. 20, pending the outcome of a psychological competency proceeding.