Ride The Lightning

What is Ride The Lightning?

Bill Beatty, our Editor-in-Chief, was my guiding light. I learned to think of journalism, the gambling industry, and even life, in whole new ways thanks to him, and I’ll always count on him as one of my mentors.

But I couldn’t have accomplished half of what I did without all of my colleagues, past and present. Our talented team of writers, editors, web site development guys, production team, on screen reporters, Human Resources, Accountants, everyone. It took the whole team to make sure we put up the latest news and opinions every day, and everyone deserves their fair share of the credit.

To all of those I met at the handful of conferences I attended before Covid-19 sent everything to digital, and all of those I met over email or Zoom since, it was a pleasure to meet you. I hope we get the chance to meet again when all of this is over, and you can reach me at any of my contact details listed at the bottom if you want to catch up in the meantime.

About Ride The Lightning

Merkur has agreed to pay an effective price of €6.19 per SFC share for the stake, representing a substantial premium over recent market valuations. 

The premium reflects both the control premium paid to the sellers and Merkur’s valuation for majority ownership.

As Merkur’s acquisition of Casigrangi would grant indirect control over SFC, French regulations require Merkur to launch a simplified mandatory tender offer for the remaining SFC shares it does not already hold. 

What is Ride The Lightning?

The LVCVA and Harry Reid International Airport have not yet released their August reports. Truist Securities analyst Barry Jonas isn’t expecting a major rally.

Jonas projected on Friday (Sept. 18) in his Las Vegas room survey a soft third quarter. Jonas said Q3 rates for Las Vegas Strip casino rooms are “mostly lower,” with MGM Resorts rooms down 9% and Caesars Entertainment down 11%.

August rates trended lower, with Strip Proxy down -14%, MGM -17%, Caesars -18%, and Wynn Resorts flat. September is also lower with Strip Proxy down -10%, MGM -11%, Caesars -15% and Wynn +2%, as weekend rates were a bit higher but weighed down by the still soft weekday rates,” Jonas wrote.