Indy Gaming: Three years later, no action in D.C. to raise jackpot tax threshold
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The gaming industry wants to increase the tax reporting threshold on slot machine jackpots from $1,200 to $5,000. The current threshold was established in 1977. House Congressional Gaming Caucus filed bipartisan legislation to have Congress authorize the changes. It's an election year and Congress is deadlocked by partisan bickering. A $2,500 jackpot is a common amount in slot machines. In the past, a $200 jack pot triggered a shutdown of the machine. Now, it's commonplace. According to AGA, slot revenues accounted for $32.5 billion of $53 billion in gaming revenues produced by the nation’s commercial casinos in 2021.
Century Casinos announced purchase of the Nugget Casino Resort in Sparks. B Riley Securities gaming analyst David Bain predicts the resort could nearly double the company's stock value. Stifel Financial gaming analysts Jeffery Stantial and David Bower are also positive about the Reno business environment. Centry Casino operates two casinos in Colorado, two in Missouri, one in West Virginia and four in Alberta, Canada. It is also trying to sell its ownership stake in several casinos. Northern Nevada attracted several technology and manufacturing companies to move into the market.
Barry Diller and his IAC/Interactive Corp. are the 14 percent owner of MGM Resorts International. Dizer founded Fox Broadcasting Co. and USA Broadcasting. He is currently No. 206 on the Forbes 400 with a net worth of $4.6 billion. IARC spent $1 billion to acquire its initial 12 percent stake in MGM in August 2020. Diler and two others are being investigated by federal prosecutors over acquisitions they made in Activision Blizzard Inc. in January. They are accused of taking part in a deal that would have seen the video game maker acquired by Microsoft Corp., as the Wall Street Journal reports.
Ukraine conflict a topic on several gaming supplier earnings calls. New International Game Technology CEO Vincent Sadusky brought up Russia's ongoing attack on Ukraine during the company's March 1 conference call. Scientific Games also questioned about business disruption brought on by the Ukraine situation during its quarterly earnings call that same day. CFO Connie James called the assault on the country "tragic" and said the CFI's "hearts go out" to the Ukrainian people.
Las Vegas could see 7,600 new hotel rooms by 2024 and beyond. Last year, resort corridor added 5,179 hotel beds. The resort has a total inventory of 150,387 hotel room and suites. Only 1,087 rooms are expected to be added to the market in 2022. Fontainebleau Las Vegas on the Strip restarted construction last fall after being shuttered for more than 12 years. Red Rock Resorts plans to open the initial phase of the $750 million Durango Station in the southwest area near the 215 Beltway.
Accel Entertainment is about to complete its acquisition of Nevada slot machine route operator Century Gaming. Apollo Global Management is looking to launch a sports betting operation through its ownership of Yahoo Sports. International Game Technology signed a contract with La Loteria Nacional, Mexico's national lottery. The contract covers lottery solutions and sports bets until September 2024. VICI Properties paid $4 billion for 63 acres and 19 adjacent acres for MSG Sphere entertainment venue. The deal was not announced. It was part of a $6.25 billion sale by Las Vegas Sands Corp.
