Betting against the odds

8 November 2018 By Lauren Silva Laughlin Follow @TheRealLSL

More trouble at Wynn could make it a takeover target. MGM may place its chips on Caesars. Watchdogs take a hard line on casino deals. But with legalized sports betting and a drop in table gambling challenging the Las Vegas Strip, bulking up may be the safest way to beat the odds.

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Shares in Wynn Resorts fell some 12 percent in early trading on Nov. 8, a day after the casino company missed third-quarter estimates in part due to lower hotel revenue and a big drop in VIP gaming revenue in Las Vegas. Chief Executive Matthew Maddox also warned that Wynn is suffering from a “slowdown ... in particular, in the premium end of the business” in Macau. The company issued fourth-quarter guidance for that part of the business that is a fifth below analysts’ expectations.

MGM Resorts International may be interested in buying Caesars Entertainment, the New York Post reported on Nov. 5, citing a gaming source close to the situation.

On Oct. 1 the Federal Trade Commission said it would require Penn National Gaming and Pinnacle Entertainment to divest casino-related assets in St. Louis, Kansas City and Cincinnati as a condition of approving their merger. Penn National said that it would buy Pinnacle for $2.8 billion last December.

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