News

Josh Swissman quoted on Las Vegas Review Journal

Experts skeptical Strip hotels colluded to fix hotel room rates

A number of hotel operators on the Strip were accused of artificially inflating the prices of hotel rooms this week in a class action lawsuit. But several hospitality and business experts have expressed skepticism that the Strip hotels colluded.

The lawsuit, filed by Seattle-based law firm Hagens Berman, said a revenue management platform used by a majority of Strip hotels used real-time pricing and supply information data from competitors to design rate recommendations that “unlawfully maximize profits for its hotel operator users.”

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Josh Swissman quoted on NPR.org

2023 in Las Vegas: Several major projects to open amid recession worries

Last year, 2022, was a banner year for the Strip and Nevada’s gaming industry. Records were broken in both revenue and visitation.

In 2023, the MSG Sphere will debut, Fontainebleau casino-resort is expected to open, and Formula One racing is coming to the Strip. Also, a new local’s casino will open.

So, it sounds like the good times will keep rolling in 2023, right? Maybe not. Economists and other experts are still expecting a downtown in the economy; maybe a recession. If that happens nationwide, what happens here?

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Josh Swissman quoted on cdcgaming.com

Global Payments ecosystem removes uncertainty

Global Payments takes away the uncertainty when it comes to a casino’s payment ecosystem. The company has positioned itself so that when all of its products are combined, no company can compare with what Global Payments offers. It handles all facets of transactions through products and services built in-house.

“When you look at a casino’s payment ecosystem, it’s made up of a number of different partners, which means there’s a lot of integration and potential service and liability and support handoffs, all of which can introduce uncertainty into that environment,” said Josh Swissman, founding partner at The Strategy Organization, a company consultant. “Global Payments is vertically integrated from start to finish. That leads to a more secure and hardened environment, a one-stop shop in terms of support. Thus, the user experience is typically more refined and more seamless.”

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Josh Swissman quoted on cdcgaming.com

Nevada regulators to hear from Virgin’s Betfred Sportsbook

Betfred Sportsbook will appear in front of Nevada regulators in a special meeting Wednesday, setting the stage for Virgin Hotels Las Vegas to open sports betting prior to the Super Bowl.

Virgin, the former Hard Rock, reopened in March 2021, but without the Betfred sportsbook that was announced in July 2020.

The special Gaming Control Board meeting comes one day before the Nevada Gaming Commission holds its monthly meeting. That agenda hasn’t been released yet.

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Josh Swissman quoted on americanbanker.com

What China’s post-COVID travel reopening means for payments providers

While cross-border travel revenue for card networks and processors has rebounded in many global regions — surpassing pre-pandemic levels — Asia’s recovery has lagged behind primarily due to lingering lockdowns. That’s poised to change as China this week reopened its borders for travel.

There are already indications of strong pent-up travel demand that could be a boon for Mastercard and Visa, which have each seen significantly lower revenue from cross-border travel spending in Asia since the pandemic began.

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Josh Swissman quoted on cdcgaming.com

Analysts confident in strong 2023 for Las Vegas

It took Nevada and the Strip only 11 months in 2022 to break their 2021 records for all-time gaming win, and industry experts remain confident in a strong 2023, despite ongoing concerns of a recession and lingering inflation in the economy.

Setting another gaming revenue record in 2023, however, will be difficult, even in a year that will benefit from a boost in conventions and international travel, along with the Las Vegas Grand Prix in November.

Through November based on numbers released Thursday by the Nevada Gaming Control Board, the state’s casinos have won $13.5 billion in 2022, already surpassing the $13.4 billion for all of 2021. It’s the same story on the Strip, with gaming revenue of $7.5 billion through November, 16.3% higher so far and already surpassing the $7.1 billion for all of last year.

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Josh Swissman quoted on cdcgaming.com

2022 in Gaming: Industry executives, workers, observers select the most important stories

From the continued growth of sports betting and its less mentioned online partner, igaming, to deals, mergers and acquisitions, it was a busy year in the gaming industry.

We also were busy at CDC Gaming Reports, keeping abreast of the latest developments, attending industry conferences, talking to thought leaders and tracking trends, in efforts to bring you the best gaming coverage anywhere.

As part of our year-end coverage, we asked industry personnel to select their most important stories of 2022.

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Josh Swissman quoted on ReviewJournal.com

Convention, meeting industry sees recovery return in 2023

As business travelers flood Las Vegas this week to attend CES to test out the latest gadgets and technology, members of the meeting and convention industry will also be taking notice — looking for signs of a recovery as it tries to recapture its pre-pandemic-level of convention business.

Concerns over the impact of COVID-19 on business travel has instead evolved to fears of inflation’s impact and the economic uncertainty stemming from the series of rate interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve. But most industry insiders say Las Vegas has yet to show anything other than growth as it approaches sales and enthusiasm nearing 2019 levels.

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Josh Swissman quoted on ReviewJournal.com

New Year’s hotel rates 3 times more than Christmas on Strip

What a difference a week makes, especially when you’re forecasting hotel room rates in Las Vegas.

Based on a survey of prices the Review-Journal conducted Wednesday afternoon, holiday room rates for the New Year’s Eve weekend will be about three times higher than Christmas weekend.

Room rates in Las Vegas for a Friday through Sunday stay, that includes Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, averaged $127.73 a night, based on listings from hotels.com. For the same period a week later, which includes New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, the average is $371.14. The survey included 67 properties for the Christmas holiday and 65 for New Year’s.

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Josh Swissman quoted on igamingbusiness.com

New sheriff in town: Fertitta takes Las Vegas

In a city long known for bigger-than-life figures such as mobster Bugsy Siegel, reclusive tycoon Howard Hughes and casino mogul Steve Wynn, Tilman Fertitta is the newest big player on the Las Vegas Strip.

The billionaire Texas businessman and owner of Fertitta Entertainment, which owns more than 600 restaurants, hotels, casinos and other entertainment destinations across the US, has planted his flag on the Strip.

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