PhillyInc

"We're a public company about to turn into a private company," said Harrah's Entertainment Inc. chairman and CEO Gary Loveman at today's 11th Annual East Coast Gaming Congress in Atlantic City. Loveman spoke as part of a panel on gambling and leisure industry trends. Shareholders of Harrah’s, the world’s largest gambling firm, recently approved the purchase by to two private-equity firms -- Apollo Management and Texas Pacific Group -- for $27.8 billion. The company owns four casinos in Atlantic City, and Loveman said he expected the transaction to be completed by the end of the year. -- Suzette Parmley

"I think $2 billion is not an unreasonable number," said Kevin DeSanctis, president and CEO of Revel Entertainment Group L.L.C., of the projected pricetag for Morgan Stanley's new casino on the Boardwalk. Revel Entertaiment will operate the casino and Morgan Stanley will own the new gambling palace. DeSanctis, who spoke on a panel at today's gaming conference, aptly called "The New Atlantic City," said the casino's price has gone up from $1 billion to $2 billion because of rising construction costs and the lengthy permitting process to build along the Jersey Shore. "You're going to have to spend a lot of money to make an impact here," he said. DeSanctis said he hopes to break ground on the casino in spring 2008 with an anticipated opening date sometime in 2011. He announced today that Arquitectonica, which has built massive casinos and hotels in Dubai and Macau, will be designing the Morgan Stanley casino. --Suzette Parmley

Dover Downs Gaming & Entertainment Inc., which operates a slots casino, a harness racing track and hotel in Delaware, isn’t worried about the growth of gaming in Pennsylvania ,though the impact is difficult to predict, according to a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. “Management has estimated that slot win from Pennsylvania patrons represents approximately 4 percent of our total slot win,” the Dover company said. -- Jonathan Berr

Donald Trump, having lost his bid for a casino in Philly, is getting serious about killing the smoking ban at Atlantic City casinos, his included. So now we can safely say that Trump smokes and jams, here to the tune of "Nobody But Me" by Ryan Shaw (Turn on your speakers):

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Rick's Cabaret International Inc. (NASDAQ: RICK), which in August signed a letter of intent to take over Philadelphia's once-controversial Crazy Horse Too club, is taking the high road in its SEC filings.

Rick's, based in Houston and one of just two publicly traded operators of strip clubs, is having a good year, according to an investor presentation filed this week with the SEC. In its last fiscal year, it reported revenue of $24.5 million, up 65 percent from the previous period. The company's shares are up 70 percent in the past year, even outperforming the soaring stock of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL). But the presentation does more than list numbers. It lays out Rick's formula for success, including its "no-tolerance policy regarding illicit sex or illegal drug use in or around the premises." And then there's its hiring and employment standards:

Female Entertainment. The Company maintains high standards for personal appearance and conduct of entertainers and waitresses. Applicants are engaged based on such factors of physical beauty, attitude, dress, personality and communication skills, demeanor and dancing ability. In most clubs, performers are independent contractors who pay a fee to perform and are paid by customers.

The Crazy Horse Too has had a colorful and somewhat controversial past in South Philly, where residents and local politicos had opposed its arrival in 2005. The club is part of a Las Vegas-based company that a Nevada TV station says has an "infamous" history. Now the company is in foreclosure. In Pennsylvania, state records show the club is owed by The End Zone Inc. of Philadelphia, whose president is listed as Salvatore Coscia. Not clear if that's the same person as "Romeo Coscia" cited by the Daily News two years ago. But its owner may not be out of the picture entirely: For now, Rick's Cabaret is buying just 51 percent of The End Zone and 51 percent of its property firm called TEZ Real Estate L.P.

- Jonathan Berr

With all the super casinos sprouting up, or at least being planted, in Atlantic City, folks in the gaming industry and local developers have taken up a game of “Who’s next?” Rumors began circulating last winter that Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority, which operates Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut, was scouting for its own spot in Atlantic City. Conventional wisdom had it that the tribe did not want to get left out in the cold since its chief in-state rival, Foxwoods Development Co., was chosen in December to build a half-billion-dollar gambling hall on the Philadelphia waterfront, a mere 60 miles from A.C.

Those same rumors have become louder of late since Wall Street investment banker Morgan Stanley got behind the Revel Entertainment Group L.L.C., and Pinnacle Entertainment Inc. and MGM Mirage -- both out of Las Vegas -- have confirmed plans to build their own billion-dollar-plus monster casinos in the nation’s No. 2 gaming market. Seems that New Jersey’s gaming tax rate of 9.25 percent is only helping the trend.

Jeffrey E. Hartmann, chief operating officer of Mohegan Sun Casino, told us earlier this month: “Mohegan Sun in Atlantic City would complement our Pennsylvania and Connecticut properties. … We like the low tax rate. We will consider how the market reacts over the next 18 months.”

That said, Mohegan Sun has placed a hedge in case its Atlantic City dreams fall apart. The Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority also owns and operates the $250 million slots palor at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs, a Pennsylvania slots parlor that opened last November (2006) in Wilkes-Barre with 1,203 slot machines, which cater to the New York-New Jersey-Pennsylvania gaming market. An expansion underway will bring it up to 2,500 slots by late summer.(2008)

– Suzette Parmley

The Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority, which operates casinos in the Poconos, Connecticut and elsewhere, has been making noise about getting into the A.C. casino market. It may now get a shot with the Tropicana in trouble.

Jeffrey E. Hartmann, Mohegan's chief operating officer, gave us this statement last night:

"We have placed a call to the state of New Jersey to find out about the process for the disposition of the asset. Atlantic City represents an opportunity to extend the Mohegan Sun brand into another good marketplace."

Of course, Mohegan is not alone. Other potential bidders are Cordish Co. of Baltimore, gambling mogul Steve Wynn.

- Suzette Parmley

Gamblers lost $4.92 billion in Atlantic City in 2007, but that doesn't make the 11 casinos there winners.

The New Jersey Casino Control Commission released December stats that show the casino industry posted the first decline in gambling revenue in Atlantic City since it was legalized there.
In 2006, a dozen Atlantic City casinos generated $5.2 billion in revenues. With a 10.6 percent drop in December revenues, casinos saw their top line for 2007 down 5 percent to $4.92 billion.

The reasons for the drop? New Jersey's smoking ban was one factor as was the closure of the Sands Hotel Casino in November 2006. But the biggest had to be those slots parlors that have opened at Pennsylvania racetracks. At year's end, six slots parlors were open in Pennsylvania, including Philadelphia Park and Harrah's Chester Downs in the Philadelphia suburbs. Combined, revenues for all of them totaled $1.04 billion in 2007. Which casino hauled in the most? Harrah's Chester at $285.98 million, slightly more than Philly Park at $285.03 million.
Still those slots parlors pale compared to the gambling juggernaut that is Atlantic City's Borgata. Once again, the Borgata grabbed a bigger share of the Jersey market. Its revenues topped $750 million, up from $739 million in 2006.

- Mike Armstrong

Got a spare 3 minutes?

Staff writer Suzette Parmley was interviewed by WDEL-AM's Allan Loudell on his newshour on Monday about the first decline in gambling revenue in Atlantic City since New Jersey legalized casinos.

You can hear the clip on the Wilmington radio station's podcast page. Just search for "parmley" to reach the right link.

- Mike Armstrong

Who says that having one of the oldest populations in the nation is bad for the economy?

Senior citizens love the slots and are showing up in droves at Pennsylvania's new slot parlors, Gov. Rendell said at the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce event on Wednesday night. Pennsylvania is dominating Atlantic City and other East Coast gambling venues, he added.

"Having the second-oldest population in the nation is paying off for us big-time," Rendell told the crowd.

- Bob Fernandez