There was a lot of wheeling and dealing going on in Nevada this week as Caesars Entertainment did a little restructuring of some assets (and by little I mean four casinos), while the latest revenue reports from the state show a fairly significant dip in January revenue compared to last year, but it’s not as bad as it first appears.
In this week’s Nevada Online Poker Review we’ll get you up to speed on both of these stories and a whole lot more, including the latest results from the Sunday Majors at Ultimate Poker and WSOP.com, as well as the latest online traffic trends in the state.
Caesars sells 3 LV properties, 4 overall
The Las Vegas Review-Journal ran a very interesting story this week, detailing the sale of four Caesars Entertainment properties to a subsidiary company of the gaming giant, Caesars Growth Partners.
What makes this story so intriguing (restructuring and cash shuffling aside) is the potential impact it will have on Caesars Growth Partners, which prior to taking on the four brick & mortar casino properties was mainly invested in Caesars’ online operations.
With the addition of four B&M properties to their balance sheet it will be interesting to see if investors are still as bullish about CGP as they have been in the past.
Make sure you check back later this week as we’ll have an in-depth look at this story later up in the next couple of days.
Nevada casino revenue down
Nevada’s gaming revenue was down nearly 3% in January (compared to last January’s numbers) but according to analysts who took a closer look at the figures the decline isn’t as big of a cause of concern as it first appeared. According to the analysts, a significant amount of the decline came from players running above EV on the tables.
“It was a strong month,” Mike Lawton, a senior control board analyst was quoted as saying. “Volumes were up both for slots and tables, but we were impacted by hold issues, mainly table games and baccarat.”
Still, the decline was felt across Las Vegas as revenue dipped on the Strip as well as in Downtown Vegas, while halfway around the globe Macau had a record-setting month according to PokerNews.com, which has many wondering if Vegas can once again rise as the gambling capital of the world.
All that being said, everyone is now eagerly awaiting the next revenue numbers which are expected to include online poker revenue numbers for the first time—Regulators wanted three online poker rooms up and running in the state before revealing any data, and a couple weeks ago, with the launch of South Point’s Real Gaming website, the criteria was met.
Ultimate Poker launches Big 25 promotion
From March 2nd through the 9th players at Ultimate Poker in Nevada can take part in the site’s Big 25 promotion. UP will host 10 separate $25 buy-in R&A tournaments over the course of the promotional period, each with a $2,500 guaranteed prize pool.
In addition to the tournament prize-pool there will also be a separate leader-board where the Top 10 finishers throughout the entire promotion will split up $2,500 in cold hard cash. You can find out more about this promotion by visiting www.UltimatePoker.com.
Weekly Guaranteed Tournaments in Nevada
WSOP.com Sunday $15K Guaranteed
The $15k Guaranteed at WSOP.com made a nice comeback after a disappointing turnout last week (just 82 entries) as 106 players registered for the $200+$15 tournament, generating a prize-pool of over $21,000.
Here is a look at the final table payouts from the tournament:
- Piejay $5,936.00
- alicia_keys $3,434.40
- iLvpoon $1,971.60
- BossMabel420 $1,547.60
- DrMcBoy $1,335.60
- norcal83 $1,123.60
- ATLien $890.40
- Rick2007 $593.60
- mnbass1 $445.20
The $10K Guarantee tournament at Ultimate Poker
Ultimate Poker’s $100 buy-in ($91+$9) $10k Sunday Guaranteed went the opposite way of WSOP.com’s as traffic dipped this week to 96 players, compared to last week’s 115 runners. WSOP.com’s 24 player increase seems to have come almost entirely at the expense of UP, whose attendance declined by 19 players this week.
Here is a look at the final table payouts from the tournament:
- Stink Palm $2,900
- elvislover67 $2,000
- DeadSpread $1,500
- luckisreal $1,000
- ShakaBraddah $800
- donthavename $600
- kemo650 $500
- TCAPPS $400
- Rick2007 $300
Traffic trends in Nevada
The needle barely moved this past week, as both WSOP.com and Ultimate Poker ended the week right where they started, with an average of 120 and 70 cash-game players respectively, according to www.pokerscout.com.
There is some hope on the horizon for a traffic uptick however, as the World Series of Poker (which starts at the end of May) will bring an influx of potential online poker customers to the state, and by the end of the year Nevada and Delaware’s interstate compact might be up and running.
The word on the street
Caesars cutting back on live poker
A very interesting article appeared at USPoker.com on Tuesday as John Mehaffey took an in-depth look at the brick & mortar poker industry in Las Vegas, and specifically, Caesars downsizing of their live poker offerings.
John drew several conclusions from the data, and offered up several interesting fixes for Caesars, including the creation of WSOP branded poker room – something Caesars recently unveiled at Bally’s in New Jersey.
You can check out John’s other suggestions as well as his breakdown of the live poker industry in the city at USPoker.com.
