Indy Gaming: ‘Economic challenges’ keeping five Clark County casinos closed into 2023
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Five casinos in Southern Nevada are not going to reopen. The economic downturn is keeping the doors locked. Red Rock Resorts spends $2.1 million every three months to keep the properties operational. The Southern Nevadans produced a gaming revenue record of $1.17 billion in March. It is expected to be higher in the first four months of 2022. There are also concerns about the impact of inflation and high gas prices. For now, the three companies have written off any reopening plans. They are still required to pay state license fees and certain slot machine and table game taxes.
Century Gaming is being acquired by Illinois slot route operator Accel Entertainment for $164.2 million. Acel is already Illinois’ largest slot machine provider to non-casino businesses. The acquisition includes the company's gaming technology divisions. The CEO Andy Rubenstein said Accell has expanded its national presence to route operations in Georgia, Iowa and Nebraska. Steve Arntzen, CFO Heidi Schmalz and Grand Vision Gaming Managing Director Merle Frank will continue in their current roles. They will guide Accell into the Nevada market.
VICI Properties is investing $120 million in the redevelopment of a Florida golf course. VICi owns 45 gaming properties in 15 states and expects to collect $2.6 billion in rental revenue in 2022. VicI owns four golf courses in three states associated with Caesars Entertainment. The company is interested in future golfcourse developments. It also owns Casada near Boulder City and Rio Secco in Henderson. In the past few months, V ICI spent $4 billion to acquire the real estate covering the Venetian, Palazzo, Venencias and the $1.9 billion MSG Sphere development.
Macau gaming revenue of $410 million in May was a 25 percent increase over April. The overall total was the second-lowest amount the Chinese gaming market has seen since September 2020. May marked a 68 percent decline compared to May 2021. Six major casino operators are waiting for the pandemic to pass. Macau's gaming revenues produced in 2020 and 2021 are the lowest single-year back-to-back totals since 2006 and 2007. Macquarie Securities gaming analyst Chad Beynon told investors to remain cautious toward Macao’s recovery.
Boyd Gaming added another $500 million to its stock repurchasing program. The company has already bought back $361 million worth of its shares. International Game Technology extended its contract to manage the Kansas Lottery for another 10 years. The Nevada Gaming Control Board appointed Chan Lengsavath as chief of the agency’s Tax and License Division and Thomasina Fremont as the chief in the Audit Division. L Engsavatha took over on May 16, while Fremon will start on July 11. IGT will provide new software to operate the system.
