Revenue rising at del Lago as sports betting begins

By KEVIN OKLOBZIJA

Thanks to unparalleled gross revenue from table games in late July, del Lago Resort & Casino enjoyed its most profitable week ever on the gaming floor.

The 2½-year-old casino raked in over $4.5 million for the week ending July 28, thanks to gross revenue of $2.26 million from games like blackjack, roulette, craps and baccarat.

However, the biggest bet since del Lago opened was made earlier this month, when Peninsula Pacific bought out its partner, the Wilmot family of Rochester, and became sole owner of the Seneca County gambling retreat.

While Moody’s Investors Service has downgraded the casino’s credit rating in each of the past two January economic reviews, Peninsula Pacific founder, chairman and managing partner Brent Stevens says he is bullish on del Lago.

"I have just made a very material investment to prove that belief," he said, referring to the buyout, terms of which were not disclosed. "What you will see is growth in capital spending. We have always seen del Lago as part of our overall company. It's a strategic asset, a long-term asset."

His confidence is buoyed by the arrival of the DraftKings Sportsbook, which was christened on Aug. 23.

Sports betting will not, by itself, transform del Lago into a cash cow for Peninsula Pacific. But bets on the NFL, college football and basketball and a multitude of other events will enhance the overall product offering and make significant contributions to the business model.
"It's going to be material," Stevens said at the sportsbook opening. "In any business, you always want to innovate. Today is something new for the customers."
Peninsula Pacific was founded in 1999 by Stevens and has offices in California and Idaho. It was originally the holding company for Peninsula Gaming, but that portion of the portfolio was sold in 2012 for $1.45 billion.
There has been talk of a second hotel on the del Lago property, and other upgrades apparently are in the works. While Stevens said no golf course is planned, he wouldn’t discuss what could be on the way.
There has been an uptick in play at the casino. In the first 27 months since del Lago opened, gross table game revenue topped $1 million just five times. It surpassed that mark twice in the past 12 weeks. Also, the average win per slot machine per day topped $190 in eight of the past 10 weeks. There were just four such weeks in the first two years of operation.
Stevens is now banking that sports betting will bring a different category of gambler to the property. And that they’ll enjoy other gaming while at del Lago. There’s a reason the sportsbook was built near the back of the casino, where the former Vine Restaurant and Bar once stood. Sports fans must pass row after row of slot machines, as well as the table games, to place a bet on a sporting event.
Legal sports betting has been 28 months in the making, ever since the U.S. Supreme Court removed legal constraints for every state.
New York was slow to act, some would say. Others would say Gov. Andrew Cuomo was cautious, citing concerns about wording in the state constitution. But two of the state's four full casinos finally began offering sports wagering in July (Rivers Casino in Schenectady and Tioga Downs in the Southern Tier) and del Lago joined the party on Friday.
"This takes betting out of the shadows," said state Assembly minority leader Brian Kolb, R-Canandaigua. "This effort to legalize it brings it out of the shadows and also into a setting that consumers can enjoy."
They can do so only in a casino, however. State lawmakers would not approve online wagering, largely because the governor believes it must be approved by voters. Other legal experts disagree, saying it's no different than online horse racing platforms that are legal.
Officials at del Lago said they will continue to push for an online platform, but they were more than thrilled to at least launch their in-person sportsbook.
The Draft Kings Sportsbook features a 1,000-square-foot wall of TV screens as well as an odds board the size of an arena corner marquee. There are live tellers as well as self-betting terminals.
"This will be an unmatched sports betting experience in the heart of the Finger Lakes," said Lance Young, del Lago's executive vice president and general manager.
Draft Kings and del Lago are 50/50 partners on the venture. Odds are set through Draft Kings and its partner, Kambi Group plc.
Former Syracuse University quarterback Donovan McNabb placed the first official wager – on the team for which he played 11 of his 13 NFL seasons.
"I'm betting the Philadelphia Eagles to win the Super Bowl this year," McNabb said, "and I don't usually give away money for no reason."
McNabb was not allowed to make any wager on a Syracuse University team, and no one else will be able to do so at del Lago either. New York's casinos cannot take bets on any amateur team based in New York (the Orange, University of Buffalo, etc.). They also cannot offer a line on any amateur event contested in New York, such as an NCAA basketball regional played at Syracuse or the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium.
Those restrictions aren’t onerous. Having no online platforms could be, however. Neighboring states, such as New Jersey, have been online for more than a year with sports wagering. New Jersey's first sportsbook opened in June 2018. Since then, just under $3.5 billion has been wagered on sports, and $2.64 billion was bet through online platforms. Total wagering has generated $222 million in revenue for the legal bookmakers as well as $26 million in tax revenue for the state.
The numbers at the FanDuel Sportsbook at The Meadowlands race track indicate New Yorkers very likely have been driving across the bridge to New Jersey to wager mostly online. Online bets in July alone totaled $52,463,652 at the Meadowlands, compared to in-person sports wagers of $7,323,483.
So while del Lago is excited to see what its sportsbook can do for the bottom line, Stevens said "we need to make it easier for the customer, and that's to get it online."
koklobzija@bridgetowermedia.com/(585) 653-4020