Reeling on the river: For the eighth straight month, collective winnings at Baton Rouge’s three riverboat casinos declined last month. At approximately $26.4 million, combined winnings in April were down 12.1% compared to the same month last year, according to the latest figures from the Louisiana Gaming Control Board. L’Auberge posted a 14.9% decline, while winnings at the Belle of Baton Rouge were off 8.9% and Hollywood Casino won 7.6% less. The local decline followed a statewide trend. The six riverboats in the Shreveport/Bossier City market saw winnings decline 5.8% and the three in Lake Charles posted a 4% decrease. The three riverboats in New Orleans posted a scant 0.4% increase, and statewide, riverboat winnings were off 5.3%. See the full April winnings report.
More doing: Home Depot reported strong first quarter profits, even though sales at competitors like Lowes were dampened by inclement weather and revenue was weaker than expected, The Associated Press reports. The Atlanta company earned $2.4 billion, or $2.08 per share, for the three months ended April 29. A year earlier the home improvement retailer earned $2.01 billion, or $1.67 per share. Even though homebuilder confidence was down again in April as the cost of home ownership becomes too high for more Americans, Home Depot still anticipates fiscal 2018 earnings to grow about 28% and sales to rise approximately 6.7%.
High winds: Royal Dutch Shell just bought a small English energy company called First Utility as part of its commitment to investing $2 billion a year on electric power or alternative energy, The New York Times reports. The purchase is in line with its recent investments in a California solar energy business, an offshore wind farm in the Netherlands and a company that provides charging outlets for electric cars. First Utility offers friendly customer service, and low prices on electricity and natural gas, but it doesn’t own any power plants or gas pipelines. Shell’s purchase of First Utility illustrates one of the ways energy companies are trying to keep up with societal and shareholder pressures to start looking at fossil-fuel-free energy while continuing its oil and gas operations. Read the full story about changes taking place at Shell.
