Las Vegas Review Journal – If his gaming analyst job doesn’t work out, Brian McGill could try winning a seat in the Main Event at the World Series of Poker.
At least the Internet version.
In late November, McGill, who follows publicly traded casino companies and slot machine manufacturers for financial services company Janney Montgomery Scott, sampled the new East Coast Internet gaming opportunities in Delaware and New Jersey.
With a home base in New York City, McGill could cross state lines and check out the action.
He found mixed results in both markets.
New Jersey had sign-up issues in the initial days, which kept players from joining the game. Meanwhile, Delaware is just too small, with the average number of online players not even reaching 50 gamblers a day.
Nevada, by contrast, averages about 200 players daily on its poker-only websites Ultimate Poker and wsop.com.
“We still think that online gaming will ultimately grow into a meaningful driver of revenues in New Jersey,” McGill told investors in a research note. “But it will take some time to see it ramp.”
In New Jersey, six Atlantic City casinos — Borgata, Trump Taj Mahal, Trump Plaza, Tropicana Atlantic City, Bally’s Atlantic City and Caesars Atlantic City — launched a combined 13 full-scale Internet casinos (table games, slots and poker) just before Thanksgiving. The Golden Nugget Atlantic City expects to have its online gaming operation running this month.
In Delaware, Internet gaming websites are run through three racetracks and are jointly managed by the state lottery, Gibraltar-based 888 Holdings, and lottery provider Scientific Games.
McGill, who participated in New Jersey’s five-day test run and played after the launch, is bullish on the market’s long-term prospects. He said annual revenues would fall “on the high side” of the $200 million to $1.8 billion estimates.
Meanwhile, McGill told investors the Delaware racetracks seemed unprepared for the start.
“There was little promotion or information unless you went to one of the track’s sites,” he said. “You could not find any information initially at the actual casino in the track.”
Delaware, New Jersey and Nevada require gamblers and their computers to be physically within the states’ boundaries. With a half-dozen states considering laws that would allow the activity, interest runs high.
New Jersey is being closely watched by the investment community, online gaming supporters and those opposed to Internet wagering legalization.
