Route 40 (https://rtforty.com/tag/borgata/)
Caesars Entertainment, which operates the Caesars, Bally’s and Harrah’s casinos in Atlantic City, is already expecting to lose customers when the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino opens next year.
When workers from the Trump Taj Mahal went on strike in July, other casinos in Atlantic City had an opportunity to move in on its customers. So where did those gamblers go? Tropicana increased its gaming market share the most, to 13.7 percent in the second half of last year – the period that coincided with the Taj’s strike and closure – compared to 12.5 percent in the second-half 2015. Over that six-month period, Tropicana’s casino revenue increased 13 percent to $190 million from $166 million in the year-earlier July-December period. Much of the muttering on the far end of the boardwalk during the strike centered around suspicion of a plan by Icahn Enterprises, the Taj’s owner, to close the casino in order to boost revenue at Tropicana, Icahn Enterprises’ other property.
The investment company owned by Kirk Kerkorian, who died last year, has begun to sell its stake in MGM Resorts International, under the terms of Kerkorian’s will. The company, called Tracinda Corp, will sell an initial 20 million shares for about $500 million to reduce its stake in MGM Resorts, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday. Tracinda Corp held a total of about 91 million shares, equivalent to a 16 percent stake, in MGM Resorts according to a filing last June. MGM Resorts last month said it would buy out Boyd Gaming’s stake in Atlantic City’s Bogata and take sole ownership of the city’s outperforming casino.