The Metro Report: What's Next?

The year is winding down! as we approach the holidays I want to share with you what I have on my agenda. This is my personalize version of the Metro Report. I am covering the gaming in the following cities. Philadelphia,New York City and Washington DC. are taking center stage between now and Christmas.

In Philly, I had the opportunity to interview two of the top General Managers on the East Coast. I am strongly considering doing more of these. Two of the top restaurants in the city are mentioned and recommended. Check out the interview here. 

Next week in New York City and the Meadowlands Exposition Center in New Jersey. the SBC North America will convene. I am honored to be part of a panel that will tackled the question of How to nurture talent to your sports betting operations. The panel will be moderated by Bronwen Gregg, The other panel members include Allison Bassman,Director of People and Culture for Penn Interactive,Noemie Levy, Talent Acquisition Manager for Bet MGM and Holly Gagnon Co-CEO of Artemis Strategic Investment Corporation. Some of the subjects we will cover include job opportunities,working remotely vs. working on property and diversity. I may have a surprise interview while in NYC. Stay tuned!

Here is a look back at SBC 2019. It includes part of the team from SeventySix Capital. Former Governor of New Jersey Chris Christie and Newly Reelected Governor Phil Murphy attended this event.

 

Then I'll easy down 95 to Washington DC to the Capital One Arena. James Van Stone and the team at Monumental Sports and Entertainment are among the leaders in bringing sports betting to a stadium style venue.  They are the model to emulate and started trends with sports wagering centric broadcasts of Washington Wizards and Washington Capital games. I will be seeing how a world class organization does it first hand with a game day experience that you will not want to miss. The Wizards are currently 4th in the NBA Eastern Conference and will be playing the Utah Jazz.

So this is what's next for me. If you are on LinkedIn, we can have a professional exchange there. If you chat on Twitter,then follow me and we can tweet about gaming and professional sports like NFL & NBA.  Videos similar to what  you saw earlier can be found on Instagram and Facebook.  Stay with me and we can roll into 2022 together. 

Getting Ready For the NFL,E Sports & G2E

Labor Day is less than 3 weeks away! So I have to get ready for the best time of the year for me. What time is that? My answer is always when the NFL is about to start and my anticipation of attending the G2E. So I want to prepare you for some of the things you can expect this fall.

I will continue to preview the Thursday Night Games starting on September 9th. My post will appear each week on Bettors Insider. I will share videos that will highlight some of the top fantasy football players every week on Instagram

The Metro Report will return this fall with NFL conversation about the teams in Philly, Washington DC & New York, When the NBA returns on Oct 19, the coverage will expand to the respective teams in the aforementioned cities. This will post every Wednesday.

The Monday Motivation and the Throwback Thursday segments on LinkedIn,Facebook & Twitter will continue. You will reach encouragement and mentorship to start your work week. On Thursdays, expect history concerning gaming & entertainment. If you want to be part of either of these formats as a way to expand your audience, you should check out my website.

GTLHottopics remains on Twitter every Tuesday with a new format. Most of the tweets will be a retweet of the trending sports news item with my commentary along with members of the GTLivechat crew. GTLHottopics and/or GTLivechat will start everyday on Twitter at Sunday thru Thursday at noon. Look for the hashtag #GTLivechat & #GTLHottopics.

The G2E 2021 will start October 4th and end October 7th. I plan to attend and provide coverage of this prestigious event. I will go on record that I will visit and share my opinion about the two newest Las Vegas properties, Circa Las Vegas Casino & Resorts World Las Vegas.

Esports is making it's way back to my website with articles and tournament information. If you or your children are gamers, you will enjoy the bi-weekly commentary.

The things that I am involved in  my role at Rivers Philadelphia Casino would take another blogpost to cover. I can tell you to expect exciting new stuff when it comes to sports betting,slots and table games play.  The team of General Manager Justin Moore, Vice President of Gaming Shawn Harris with the addition of Bennie Mancino (Table Games) & Paul Toennes (Marketing) is going to rock! Go to Rivers Casino Philadelphia for updates.  

                                                                   GET READY!

Take a shot at a new Career

 

This is a unique opportunity for anyone that lives or works in Philadelphia. If you are looking for a new career or one of the many Americans that are open to getting a coronavirus vaccine but have not manage to do so, keep reading.

Rivers Casino Philadelphia is opening the gateway to both scenarios. It is no secret that Rivers is one of the best places in the region to work. The commitment to the staff and patrons is to provide a safe work environment. Hence, the coronavirus clinic.

So where do you fit in?

Rivers is hiring in several departments.

Bryan Meloy,the Food and Beverage Director, has been with Rivers for 10 years. Bryan's career has several highlights that include opening the Wild Wild West in Atlantic City and opening the Rivers Casino Sports Book. He is looking for culinary employees. He would be a great mentor to a food and beverage worker.

Sheri McQueen is a “Day One Leader” joining the Rivers Family in 2010. Sheri was chosen from a group of stellar applicants to be the Table Games Instructor for new dealer candidates. She has taught hundreds of dealers that have went on to supervisory positions with Rivers. The classes are on going and are available on the weekends. A dealer starting hourly rate is approximately 20-23 dollars an hour including tips. This may be a come up for somebody. I forgot to mention the classes are free.

Mike Mastrangelo is our H/R specialist that specializes in matching you up with the position that matches your skill set. If your background involves banking or cashiering, Mike can direct you to a casino cage position. If you have other interest,Mike will find a fit. Rivers wants you to maximize your area of expertise.

So, on Wednesday, May 26 between 2PM and 6PM, Rivers Philadelphia will have a recruiting area at our COVID vaccine clinics “Take a shot at a new Career”.  A Shot, A Career or both. Click this link to see what positions are available.

If you are 12 years old or older (between 12 -17) and are accompanied by a parent or guardian, you can be vaccinated. Free parking is available.

Here is the scheduling link for the vaccine. I look forward to seeing you!

 

The Battle for Philadelphia Gaming: Round One

The official opening of Live Casino & Hotel in South Philadelphia expanded the gaming casinos in this region to five. They include Rivers Casino Philadelphia, Harrah's Philadelphia Casino, Parx Casino and Valley Forge Casino and Resort. Each of the existing venues has it's own niche. It was a competive and comfortable environment with 4 players. Philadelphia's population of 1.5 million people can accommodate gaming and entertainment for 4 casinos. Live Casino is betting that 5 casinos can coexist and they will be the premiere destination. 

The revenue in Pennsylvania Gaming dropped by more than 20% in 2020. This was largely due to the closing of casinos due to COVID -19. Traditional land-based casino revenue nearly halved. Pennsylvania's casinos racked up approximately 1,500 closure days, or 33% of the days the casinos would have operated normally. Slot-machine revenue fell by $1 billion to $1.3 billion, while table games revenue fell by $400 million to $500 million. However, internet gambling shot up 17 times from $34 million in 2019 to $566 million, and sports betting more than doubled to almost $190 million.

These numbers give two conclusions. The first is the appetite for online gaming is substantial. There is a tremendous opppotunity because of sports betting to introduce new customers to your gaming operation. The second conclusion is that due to limits on capacity, each of the two casino in Philadelphia is on even ground. The relaxing of the food and beverage restraints will level the playing field equivalent to the venues outside the city limits that were able to continue those operations with safety protocols in place.

So each property in the Philadelphia region has the opportunity to rearraign it's share of the market. Some people see competition as a threat. I look at it as an opportunity to improve your game. Identify your strengths and shore up your weaknesses. Find ways to energize your staff and reconnect with your customers. COVID has made managing a gaming operation extremely challenging. One of the best owners I ever work for told me you can't be afraid to try new stuff. It's time.

                                                                      Time is Now

The challenge is there for all 5 casinos. The bell just rang! It's Round One!

Follow me on Twitter where I discuss #sportsbetting and #gaming entertainment.  Check out my articles in Bettors Insider and in the January edition of Igaming player. 

The Metro Report: Sports Betting in New York, Washington DC & Philly

Since the advent of Sports Betting the coverage of the New York, Washington DC and Philadelphia markets are essential to prognosticators. So I will expand with my Gaming Guy News minutes into the 3 top cities on the East Coast.

The Sixers are leading the Eastern Conference with a 13-6 record. They defeated the Lakers on Wednesday 107-106. The Sixers got the test they needed to pass to show they are legitimate contenders for the championship. The wins over Boston earlier in the season were good but Jayson Tatum did not play in either game.  Joel Embiid is one of the names mentioned as a top candidate for MVP along with Lebron James. Doc Rivers should receive some consideration for Coach of the Year if the Sixers win more than 50 games. In games that Embiid does not play, the Sixers are 0-4. Embiid is listed as questionable against the Timberwolves. The Sixers are favored by 7 and the total is 224.  The Timberwolves are one of the worst teams in the league so the Sixers should handle them. 

The Brooklyn Nets have a record of 12-8. They have won 3 straight and are 7 -3 over the their last 10 games. Kevin Durant is leading the league in scoring while James Harden is leading in assists.  The Big Three is working at an optimum level offensively.  They lead the league in scoring with 119.8 per game. They are also number one in field goal percentage. They are a work in progress defensively. They are 26th in points allowed. Most of their games trend over. The Nets play the Thunder tonight and they are -9.5 with the total set at 231.5.

The Washington Wizards are continuing to struggle with a 3-11 record. They are last in defense. The Wizards are 4th in points per game. So a change in defensive philosophy is required. They may have to become more creative by trapping the opposing team's top scorer or play a zone to force the opponent to shoot from outside. The Bradley Beal trade rumors continue. I would like to see him and Russell Westbrook stay put. The Wizards have missed several games due to Covid protocols and not having enough players available to dress for the games.  This indicates that guidelines were not adhered to. The Wizards are at home tonight against the Atlanta Hawks. They are getting 4 and the total is 234.

The New York Knicks have a record of  8-11. They are 4th in the league in rebounding. They allow the fewest points to be scored against them. However, they struggle to score over 100 points a game. That equates to 47% of their 19 games. When  they play a team that is ranked in the top 15 defensively this is a trending under play on how many the Knicks will score as a team. The Knicks play the Cavaliers tonight and they are +1.0. The total is 208.0.

My Sports Betting Minute Tip of the day is for NBA action and in game wagering. 

The Eagles have selected Nick Sirianni as their new head coach. Sirianni most recently served as offensive coordinator for the past three seasons in Indianapolis under Frank Reich, who became the Colts' head coach after helping the Eagles win Super Bowl LII. In that role, the up-and-coming NFL coach played a major part in helping Indianapolis reach the postseason in 2018 and 2020. This week Duce Staley decided to to go to the Detroit Lions as their running back coach.  This disappointed some Eagles fans who wanted to see him as the coach to replace Doug Pederson. The Eagles have the 6th pick in the NFL Draft and are projected to pick Jaylen Waddle from Alabama.

The Sports Betting Business in Philadelphia is getting a new member. Live Casino is joining the action with Fan Duel as the sports platform provider. Since most of the wagers from competitors are coming from the online betting via mobile and tablet apps, it will be interesting to see who does the best job regionally marketing their retail location. Competition bring creativity. The existing Casino Operators include Rivers Casino Philadelphia, Parx Casino, Valley Forge Resort and Casino and Harrah Philadelphia.

Follow me on Twitter for conversations and watch my videos on Instagram.