Increased convention activity helped spike August attendance in Las Vegas, setting a high-water mark for that month based on year-by-year numbers that are running ahead of projections. According to a senior analyst for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, the area is on pace to hit 38.7 million visitors this year. That figure would rank marginally ahead of 2005’s 38.6 million visitors. August totals accounted for 3.3 million visitors, a 2.7 percent increase based on 2005 figures.

Of note, MAGIC International’s gathering at the Las Vegas Convention Center – held between Aug. 28-31 – accouted for 105,000 attendees alone as part of 262 more conventions that helped aid the industry at a 53.3 percent clip for the month. All told, 609,595 attendees played their part in a 3.4 percent increase over the first six months of 2006.

Overall room occupancy were running healthy at a 90.7 percent clip (a two percent increase) while motels, however, dropped 2.2 percent. Higher fuel prices were cited as a possible drag on those figures, lowering the number of budget-conscious visitors. It is hoped that a recent drop in gasoline costs might benefit the industry, as more disposable income is found for people planning trips despite a slowing economy. 

- Rex Harris

Aided by high-end gamblers on the Las Vegas Strip, Nevada gaming revenue increased 7.5 percent in August in comparison to the same period last year, according to figures released Tuesday by the Nevada Gaming Control Board. Of note, volume at baccarat (a high-end table game) was up 83 percent during the month, according to NGCB analyst Frank Streshley, who added that while slot win is softening, high-end play has benefited the entire market.

Gaming win rose to $1.06 billion in August 2006 from $989.1 million in August 2006, with the state government collecting $67 million in percentage fees in September – a rise of 8.3 percent from the same period one year ago. Of that win, baccarat accounted for nearly $40 million of the increase. Gaming win on the Las Vegas Strip – the heart of Nevada’s casino industry that includes casinos run by MGM Mirage, Harrah’s Entertainment, Las Vegas Sands and Wynn Resorts - increased 14.3 percent to $556.3 million from over a year ago. Elsewhere, Reno northern Nevada casinos reported a gaming win drop of 2.3 percent from a year ago, ringing in at $68.6 million.

- Rex Harris

Elsewhere in the world of U.S. gaming financials, Ameristar Casinos saw their shares take a bit of a tumble this week after an analyst initiated coverage on the company with a Hold rating, citing growth strategy concerns and a lack of diversified gaming assets. Monday, the stock dropped three-percent or 60-cents to $22.31 on the NASDAQ, still in the high-end of their 52-week average of between $16.73 and $26.57. Stiff competition from Harrah’s Entertainment given that outfits recently-increased promotional activity is pressuring Ameristar’s margins. Ameristar traded down at $21.72 per share Friday on the NASDAQ.

Speaking of Harrah’s, they, too, were downgraded this week from neutral to overweight by J.P. Morgan amid the projected likelihood that it will have trouble outperforming the broader market over the next twelve months. Further, the broker also pointed out that Harrah’s, earning trends in both Las Vegas and Atlantic City are lagging behind previous periods of growth – due in no small part to their higher promotional spending. Their stock also dropped early in the week by more than $2.50 per share to $64.93 Tuesday on the NYSE, dipping even closer to the low end of their 52-week average of $57.29 and $83.33, before ending the week up at $66.43. Harrah’s is facing increasing competition of their own from the newly-expanded Boyd Gaming/MGM Mirage-owned Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa, with revenues at its Showboat, Marina, Bally’s and Caesar’s properties inching up only two-percent in July.

In some celebrity spokesman news, Full House Resorts. announced they have reached a consulting agreement with former Chrysler Corporation Chairman and CEO Lee Iacocca to provide services and help market and advertise the company and its various projects over the next three years. Full House Resorts runs the Delaware State Fairgrounds’ Midway Slots, offering more than 1,500 slot machines, a 50-seat diner, a 450-seat buffet, and an entertainment lounge area. The company is also currently in collaboration with Native American tribes in Michigan, Montana, and New Mexico to develop gaming enterprises.

In other news, Las Vegas Sands Inc. has begun construction of their remaining Cotai Strip properties, hot on the heels of the recently-completed Venetian Macau Resort Hotel. Inspired by the famous Las Vegas Strip, the Cotai Strip sits in an area of reclaimed land nestled between the islands of Taipa and Coloane in Macau, a People’s Republic of China Special Administrative Region. Their stock traded up at Friday close at $68.35 per share.

- Rex Harris

The week that was in the world of U.S. gaming financials began with the announcement of Paltronics System Solutions Inc. launching a lawsuit against Progressive Gaming International Corp. for patent copyright infringement. Paltronic, manufacturers of various slots machines and video games such as Progressive Blackjack, Caribbean Stud and Texas Hold’em for assorted casinos, is claiming Progressive Gaming infringed upon its multi-screen gaming device video game system. A patent was obtained for the unit in March. In response, Progressive Gaming, the makers of casino software and games, has announced they intend to fight the suit and categorized the move as a “veiled attempt by one of (our) competitors to capture market share from us through the court system rather than through the marketplace.� Shares in Progressive closed up at $8.41 per share on the Friday NASDAQ.

In other litigious news, GWIN similarly announced a lawsuit of their own this week – this one against multiple companies for patent infringement. Included in the suit are Don Best.com (majority owned now by Liberty Media after their recent purchase of Fun Technologies) along with VegasInsider.com, VegasExperts.com and Sports Direct. Additionally, GWIN announced they may also name even more plaintiffs in the future, and is seeking damages in the millions for intellectual property rights infringement. GWIN is America’s only publicly-traded sports handicapping company, specializing in both developing as well as marketing sports handicapping advice and information via television, radio and the internet. In other GWIN  news, the company will now be officially known as Winning Edge International Inc.. Their stock traded at 4.4 cents per share Friday.

Elsewhere, The Meadows harness racetrack harness racetrack outside Pittsburgh was one of five such operations to be awarded a slot machine license. Millennium Gaming Inc. of Las Vegas will operate the Washington County casino, having purchased the track back in July for $200 million from Magna Entertainment. In addition, the other companies that also received licenses were Harrah’s Chester Casino and Racetrack; Penn National Race Course near Harrisburg; Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs (located on the outskirts of Wilkes-Barre) and Bensalem’s Philadelphia Park. According to a Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board news release, a decision for the Erie-based Presque Isle Downs was delayed. Some of the tracks plan to have slots open and operating by the end of the year, with the remainder spreading out their kick-offs throughout 2007. Magna Entertainment closed down at Friday close at $5.26 on the TSE, Harrah’s closed up at $66.43 per share, while Penn National also closed up at $36.52 per share.

We will have more U.S. gaming financials to follow in a later update. Come back soon - and every day - to AllGamingNews.com for all your gaming industry news.

- Rex Harris

We begin our look back at the week that was in U.S. gaming financials with news of Harrah’s Entertainment official debut of its new 450-room, 26-story, $170 million luxury hotel in New Orleans on Thursday. The first project of its kind to open since the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, the hotel compliments the existing 125,000 square-foot Harrah’s Casino, featuring 2,100 slots and more than 90 table games. More than 2,500 guest attended the opening, with the facility lying mere paces away from the casino, New Orleans’ historic French Quarter and other attractions along the Mississippi River. Works of notable local artists and a new jazz club housed within a historic building were similarly incorporated into the new project.  Harrah’s also announced this week that they will host a conference call this coming Wednesday to discuss their 2006 third-quarter results. At week’s end, Harrah’s Entertainment closed down $1.26 per share at $66.50.

Elsewhere, Harrah’s St. Louis rival Ameristar Casinos hosted its first night of professional boxing at their new 55,000 square-foot conference center in the city. The move is seen as a counterpunch by Ameristar in answer to Harrah’s March 2006 upgrades and additions to its St. Louis casino which has seen them overtake the number one spot in the area for gaming revenue – a place formerly enjoyed by Ameristar, who are currently in the midst of a $240 million upgrade of its own to the St. Charles facility. The Ameristar conference center plans to host other boxing events every six weeks or so, with the company also bracing for the impact of two new Pinnacle Entertainment Inc. casinos in the area scheduled to open over the next two years. Ameristar closed the week on the NASDAQ selling at $23 per share. Pinnacle, meanwhile, traded at $29.14 per share, a drop of 39-cents.

In other news, Las Vegas Sands will reportedly open their new Singapore facility earlier than expected amid fears that the Macau casino/resort market may not live up to initial expectations. Analyst Lawrence A. Klatzkin, while reducing overall revenue expectations for the market to $12.6 million from initial predictions of $13.8 million by 2008, said company management has informed him that it will open its $3.6 million Singapore casino/resorts by July 2009, up from past projections of January 2010. Las Vegas Sands opened its Sands Macao facility with expanded floor space on Aug. 24, with rival Wynn Resorts also recently opening their new casino in the area. Las Vegas Sands closed down at Friday close at $65.27, a drop of $1.14 per share, with Wynn Resorts coming in down as well to $67.02, a drop of $1.47.

- Rex Harris