Foxwoods Resorts Casino CEO and President Jason Guyot joins Yahoo Finance Live to discuss his company’s partnership with DraftKings, sport betting, and the overall gambling industry.
Video Transcript
SEANA SMITH: Sports betting becoming more and more popular. Revenue totaling over $3 billion in the first half of the year. That’s compared to $4.3 billion for all of 2021. Estimates here from “Forbes.” Now, Morgan Stanley predicting that revenue could top $12 billion by 2025. Connecticut-based Foxwood has a partnership with DraftKings for sports betting.
We want to bring in Jason Guyot. He’s Foxwoods Resort Casino CEO and president. It’s great to see you, Jason. So obviously, sports betting adding to some of the excitement that we’ve seen in the gambling space. From your perspective, what are you seeing demand-wise right now in terms of people and their excitement level to bet?
JASON GUYOT: Coming up to our one-year anniversary of getting sports betting in Connecticut approved an online gaming. And we’re looking for year-over-year growth where we’re anticipating about a 50% increase year over year. So definitely going very well and got the best partner in the business in DraftKings.
– 50% year over year. That is massive, Jason. What are you seeing in terms of online betting versus in partner versus in-person? You did mention the partnership with DraftKings.
JASON GUYOT: Yeah, in person in retail in our Sportsbook, we’ve taken over 360,000 wagers in the past nine months. And that’s where we see our pace and volume. And we’re looking to increase that volume and, you know, exceed prior year by, I mentioned, over 50%. When we take a look at statewide mobile statistics, we have generated about $94 million in sports betting online. And honestly, it’s been great for us at Foxwoods and also the state. We’ve almost– a little bit over $42 million paid in taxes to the state so far. So it’s something that is a great partnership, and it’s worked out for both parties.
SEANA SMITH: Jason, on a macro level, though, the economy is slowing down. People are paying more for gas to get to your casino. They’re paying more for items and every aspect of their life. Are you seeing any sort of change in consumer spending habits?
JASON GUYOT: We absolutely are. I mean, it’s hitting us. And businesses on both sides increase in commodity pricing. And then in general, just that increase of inflation across the board. So it’s something that we’ve dealt with in the past. We have a much more agile organization now after coming out of the pandemic. And we think we’re poised to work our way through it. But definitely, the larger macroeconomic issues are having an impact on us here at Foxwoods and other businesses in general.
– Just by some standards, we’re not there yet. But is gambling recession-proof?
JASON GUYOT: I think we’ve seen it in the past. I would say gambling is not recession-proof. You know, what’s interesting now when you look at the different jurisdictions, whether you look at in Connecticut or Midwest gambling or compare it to Las Vegas, you know, Las Vegas is seeing a huge boom. Some of the largest revenue numbers that they’ve seen in years. And that’s just based on people wanting to get out after the pandemic.
When you look more regionally, I think you’re seeing a different story. I mean, post-pandemic, we’re still down about 15% to our 2019 numbers. So we have to work a lot harder, a lot smarter than some of these other jurisdictions. But it’s really different as you move across the United States in the different environments people are operating in.
SEANA SMITH: Jason, how long do you see some of these challenges persisting here within your business?
JASON GUYOT: Yeah, unfortunately, I would say they’re going to persist for the next six to eight months, maybe a little bit longer. It all depends on the confidence consumers have. And the more we talk about a recession, I think the more it looms over everyone’s head. And we’re following the markets. Another tough day today. But things like that don’t help businesses in general. And there was a lot of money put into the economy back in 2020, 2021. We’re not seeing that this year, and that’s definitely having an impact on us.
– Given the macro economy, it may be a tough time to unveil a massive expansion. That is, however, the case. Tell us about what’s new coming to Foxwoods.
JASON GUYOT: Yeah, we’ve had– this our 30th anniversary. We have so many exciting things coming. Earlier this year, we announced the Great Wolf Lodge at Mashantucket, which is going to be right here on property. We’re also announced $85 million worth of expansion here within the resort. We’re over 9 million square feet as it is, but we announced a brand new casino, a new celebrity chef restaurant. We’re opening a new Golden Dragon. We’re developing an Expo Center to open in November along with a brand new bingo hall. Those are just a few of the many things that we’re investing in. And now’s the time to invest.
I think that these economic challenges will pass. And we’ll be poised and ready to be very aggressive and come into the market with some new products. And it’s a very competitive area where we are in New England. We’re surrounded by probably six or seven major gaming players. And what continues to separate us is our amenities here, the square footage we have, and the loyalty of our guests. And so we’re doubling down on that listening to them and developing and adding amenities that they’ve been asking for years.
SEANA SMITH: Jason, speaking of some of the competition out there, there are three casino licenses approved for the New York City area. Foxwoods isn’t too far from New York City. What do you make of that competition? Any fear that that could potentially hurt your business?
JASON GUYOT: Yeah, we’re keeping an eye on it, and we’re very aware. When Massachusetts approved gaming both with MGM Springfield and Encore coming in, that did impact us. Back in 1992, we were a monopoly in Connecticut and a 95 corridor. It was Foxwoods’ Atlantic City in Las Vegas. And now, we’re surrounded, as I mentioned earlier, by over eight major players with more competition to come in New York.
And so it’ll be very interesting. We’re keeping a close eye on who those competitors could be and our interest level of getting involved in New York. But it is right now, a part of our competitive set. We call it a battle zone now because we’re surrounded by so many different competitors. We’re keeping an eye on it. And it will at the end of the day have an impact because gaming isn’t growing at the same pace as expansion of gaming is as state to state look for gaming revenues and tax revenues to help offset some of the shortcomings they have in their annual budgets.
– We have to look at the battle. President and CEO of Foxwoods, Jason Guyot. Good to have you. Enjoy the weekend.
JASON GUYOT: Thank you. Thanks for having me on.