Tid-Bit Tuesdays

Tuesdays will be my day to rant, rave, or talk about anything I feel needs to be discussed.  Tuesdays are all about me....unless something else is pressing.

Basically, today is Binbin says - a list of non-related gaming issues, items, news and pet peeves.  So sit back and get ready because I don't even necessarily know where this is going today.

Binbin says:

pet peeve - If you sit down at a slot machine, and you're too lazy to figure out how it it works, don't assume the guy next to you is just waiting to stop everything and help you.  Leave the poor guy alone and consider someone else's feelings beside your own!  (wow, that felt good)

Atlantic City is struggling to recover from its five day shutdown during Hurricane Sandy,  The city largely escaped any physical damage, but the financial repercussions have been the hardest to recover from.  Due to the shutdown nine conventions were lost, translating to the loss of $31 million in
spending.  I love visiting Atlantic City, especially Borgata.  I hope better days are ahead.

MGM Grand, Mashantucket, CT — A casino brawl involving a mob of nearly 100 people led to the arrests of two men at the MGM Grand at Foxwoods on Sunday.  According to police reports, the fight erupted just after 2:30 am Sunday, inside the Shine nightclub at the MGM Grand and spilled out into the lobby of the casino. Due to the size of the fight — the Norwich Bulletin notes that 80 to 100 people were involved — early responders were forced to call for backup from state police.  (Wow,  now I know why I prefer gambling around 7:00AM when casinos are empty!)

Haven't had a royal flush in a while? - maybe because the long run average of how many hands it will take to hit a royal flush in video poker on the average 40,000 hands!

I recently tried the newly renovated buffet at Mohegan Sun (there is only one these days).  It is amazing how similar it is to the Studio B Buffet at M Resort and Casino in Las Vegas.  However, the Studio B is much larger, cheaper, and has free beer & wine.  Still, the similarities are amazing. 

Pet peeve - people, listen!...Stop touching, swiping, talking to, massaging, and tapping the slot machine!  Once you hit the button, you have no influence over what the RNG has already chosen!  Man, that's so annoying.

Ever notice that craps players always seem to be having the most fun!

Finally, here is an interesting article written by gaming guru Howard Stutz from Casino City Times:

Analysts see East Coast gaming at tipping point

"Barring action on a pending lawsuit, Maryland could soon have six Las Vegas-style casinos, including a $400 million gambling hall in downtown Baltimore and an $800 million resort south of Capitol Hill on the Potomac River.

Pennsylvania gaming regulators are investigating six separate offers to build a $500 million to $700 million hotel-casino in downtown Philadelphia.

Massachusetts authorities are weighing casino proposals for Boston and Springfield.

There isn't an end in sight.  Two gaming analysts believe there should be. In separate research reports, they said the populous Northeast and Atlantic Coast regions are close to reaching a casino saturation point.

Deutsche Bank gaming analyst Andrew Zarnett told investors that revenue and cash flow from older casinos will decline as new resorts open.   In the past five months, Zarnett said, the number of slot machines has grown rapidly along the Atlantic Coast. In the past five years, states such as Delaware, Pennsylvania, New York and Maryland opened their borders to casino development.......

Moody's Investors Service gaming analyst Keith Foley warned that gaming expansion measures that passed in Maryland and Rhode Island this month will increase the gaming supply, but not necessarily add more gamblers.

For the 12 months that ended Sept. 30, Zarnett calculated the Atlantic Coast casino market generated gaming revenues of $8.3 billion, a nearly 8 percent increase over the preceding 12 months.   However, when factoring out revenues from casinos that opened in the past 12 months - Maryland Live!, Revel in Atlantic City, Resorts World New York and the Valley Forge Casino in eastern Pennsylvania - gaming revenues declined 3.4 percent for existing operators.....

If everything is built as planned, Zarnett said he believes the Northeast and Atlantic Coast market will increase its number of slot machines and gaming tables by almost 18 percent over the next five years.

Philadelphia's planned casino presents the latest challenge to Atlantic City."

Happy Holidays, and may at least one of your flushes be royal.

Binbin