There is likely to be less prosperity resulting from these money mills than was originally expected. Redistribution of waning wealth squeezed from a shrinking market will be of some assistance in supplementing purses but the reality is that what has happened is an expansion of product in a stagnant marketplace at a time when wagering in all forms is contracting within an economy that will almost certainly be in a deep and sobering recession for years to come.
The projections on which economic forecasts were made in advance of the Aqueduct project, having been calculated during the long-ago burst technology bubble and sustained through the exploded real-estate bubble are no longer valid. Nor, probably, are those sold to voters in Maryland. Alternative gaming at racetracks in no longer an enhancement to the core business but a survival mechanism. With wagering on horse races down nationwide and the gaming industry in freefall, it is a tenuous partnership upon which the racing industry has attached its hope for future prosperity.
Las Vegas Sands, $5.34 at the Tuesday close, is perhaps the most jaw-dropping example of the current morass in the casino gaming business, having traded within the last year at $122.96.
MGM-Mirage, closed at $11.36, well below its $93.19 52-week high.
Wynn Resorts, once a $139.75 stock, closed on Tuesday at $50.10.
The only gaming stock with anything to offer at the moment, Boyd Gaming, closed Tuesday at $4.48, significantly lower than it 52-week high, $39.84, but yields an 8.6% dividend.
The marriage of the ill to the crippled seems a rather flimsy business plan, but, in reality, it is exactly what the partnership of racing and mechanized gaming has become. --PM
16 Nov 2008 at 03:58 pm | #
Of late, Mr. Moran, several individuals in their commenting at this site have made reference to your alcohol consumption. I went into the service at sixteen, with parent consent, and was drunk from the first day to the last day (three years), then to college, where I was again drunk virtually everyday. Nothing makes the mind work better than alcohol. Unfortunately, most who try booze do not know how to handle it, there in is our secret.
A year ago, I thought that slot revenue would create the golden triangle - NYRA tracks, Philly tracks, and Maryland tracks. Racing was moving into its golden years. The recent implosion of the financial markets suggests otherwise. NYRA will run up red ink, equal to prior years, in this year and next year (so much for the oversight). Sir Charles, and the corps of directors, numbering 25, will enjoy the ride as racing slides further south. Slot revenue will not be there to hide their incompetence, but they will not be held accountable as it is politics as usual.
It seems that nothing changes, not even NYRA management.
And the beat goes on .....
17 Nov 2008 at 01:35 pm | #
Hey Paul,
You think racinos will provide players with free alcoholic beverages,similiar to casinos?? Good idea, don’t you think?? By the way, what’s your beer of choice??