Casino City’s Friday Five: Sports betting surcharges and Las Vegas baseball edition

The prospect of Major League Baseball gracing the Las Vegas Strip in the near future faces uncertainty due to emerging stadium construction concerns. That's part of the big news coming out of the casino-gaming industry this week, but it's not all doom and gloom.

We also have DraftKings reversing course and announcing it won't implement a surcharge on winning bets in certain states, U.S. commercial gaming revenue is soaring to new heights, Bally's Chicago rolling out the red carpet with enhanced VIP offerings, and Sin City preparing to welcome the Labor Day Weekend crowds with an array of entertainment choices.

Let’s begin with VIP treatment:

5. Bally’s Chicago Casino expands VIP offerings
Bally's Chicago Casino unveiled a new VIP Lounge at a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Monday at the Medinah Temple.

The VIP lounge at Bally's Chicago at Medinah Temple offers eligible guests a quiet respite from the gaming floor, complete with complimentary food and non-alcoholic beverages, comfortable seating and televisions showing sports and entertainment programming.

Bally’s Chicago has also opened a VIP Player Services window on the same floor. Open Fridays and Saturdays, the window will offer Player’s Club and cashier transactions for Legend and Superstar Bally’s Rewards Members.

All guests are welcome to try the new high-limit slot machines, which include titles like Dollar Storm, Dragon Cash and a variety of Lightning Cash titles.

?? Exciting news from Bally’s Chicago! We just unveiled our new VIP Lounge, offering an exclusive haven for Bally Rewards members with top-notch comfort, complimentary bites, just steps away from high-limit action. Explore our VIP experience and indulge in luxury with us! pic.twitter.com/YdRU9a1wZo
— Bally's Chicago (@BallysChicago) August 12, 2024

4. A full schedule to hit Las Vegas for Labor Day Weekend
Labor Day Weekend will be celebrated in Las Vegas with live entertainment and sporting events taking place throughout the destination from 30 August through 2 September.

With performances from acts including the hometown favorites The Killers, a standup set from comedian Kevin Hart, a Las Vegas Aces game and a poolside performance from hip-hop icon Wiz Khalifa, there is something for everyone this holiday weekend.

Below are some other options to consider attending:

- Dolby Live at Park MGM presents Bruno Mars on Saturday, 31 August and Sunday, 1 September.
- MGM Grand Garden Arena at MGM Grand Hotel & Casino Las Vegas presents Twenty One Pilots (Saturday, 31 August) and Nick Cannon presents Wild n Out (Sunday, 1 September).
- TAO Beach Dayclub at The Venetian Las Vegas presents sets by Timmy Trumpet (Friday, 30 August), Tiësto (Saturday, 31 August), Fisher (Sunday, 1 September) and Amiri Paul (Monday, 2 September).
- Jewel Nightclub at Aria Resort & Casino will have sets by Tinashe (Friday, 30 August), Lil Jon (Saturday, 31 August) and Steve Aoki (Monday, 2 September).
- Modelo Vegas Kickoff Classic, a college football game featuring a match-up between LSU and USC, takes place at Allegiant Stadium on Sunday, 1 September.

3. US commercial gaming revenue continues to set records
U.S. commercial gaming revenue reached $17.63 billion in Q2 2024, according to the American Gaming Association’s Commercial Gaming Revenue Tracker.

The total marked the industry’s 14th consecutive quarter of annual revenue growth and its highest-grossing Q2 performance on record.

Across the country, 24 jurisdictions saw year-over-year revenue growth in Q2 2024.

In addition, iGaming grossed $1.97 billion in Q2 2024, a 25.2% year-over-year increase, but decreased 0.7% when compared to Q1 2024.

????? RELEASE: U.S. commercial gaming revenue reached $17.63B in Q2 2024, the industry’s 14th straight quarter of annual revenue growth and its highest-grossing Q2 on record.

Read AGA’s latest Commercial Gaming Revenue Tracker ?? https://t.co/rhHM2Vn0jA pic.twitter.com/Q0tePmpzyZ
— American Gaming Association (@AmericanGaming) August 15, 2024

2. DraftKings backtracks from taxing winning bets
Two weeks ago, DraftKings CEO Jason Robbins announced it was going to implement "a gaming tax surcharge" in New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Vermont in January 2025 with the hopes it will "drive adjusted EBITDA upside on an annual basis."

Days later, Rush Street Interactive said they were not going to implement such a surcharge on its players with FanDuel announcing the same a few days ago.

Shortly after FanDuel’s announcement, DraftKings came out saying it would no longer be following its plan to add a surcharge to winning bets in those areas.

DraftKings Statement on Gaming Tax Surcharge pic.twitter.com/cucbsQJIVD
— DraftKings News (@DraftKingsNews) August 13, 2024

1. Las Vegas baseball stadium in jeopardy
The MLB’s Oakland Athletics are supposed to be moving into a brand new Las Vegas baseball stadium in 2028. While delays are not uncommon when it comes to construction, financial delays can lead to the complete failure of a project. And while there’s still a long way to go before that happens in this situation, that is the path we’re on according to this week’s video.

The Athletics finally unveiled details about the financing for the new Vegas baseball stadium during a meeting several weeks ago. Those details showed that they expect $350 million to be provided by Nevada tax payers, who didn’t even get a say in the plans. In fact, the Nevada Supreme Court said they couldn’t even vote for it.

Then there is the issue of another $300 million which will supposedly be raised through debt financing, even though no one is beating down the door to take on that responsibility because the team cannot secure a lender. Even if they could, that still leaves a healthy chunk of $850 million on the table.