Adjusted Earnings

Consolidation continues to be the buzzword in the gaming industry. The past three years have seen the field of public gaming companies dwindle from 60 in 2001, to 45 in 2002 and just 39 in this year’s survey. Indeed, 2004 will be another blockbuster year for mergers, with the combination of MGM Mirage and Mandalay, as well as Harrah’s Entertainment and Caesars, if both deals gain federal approval.

Meanwhile, 2003 was a year of considerable change. Perhaps most notably: Penn National’s acquisition of Hollywood Casinos and IGT’s acquisition of Acres Gaming. That year also saw the industry going “global” with the opening of the Macau and U.K. markets to commercial casinos companies from the United States. Furthermore, 2003 saw “cashless” technology gather steam and Class II gaming legitimized. The overall performance of the gaming industry was strong in 2003 compared to many other industries.

Our annual study analyzes CEO performance by comparing financial results relative to total compensation. Using our proprietary pay-for-performance model, each CEO was compared to his or her industry peers. Read the full article as published in the October 2004 edition of Casino Journal here.