Centerfield Nine: Tech, DB, Analytics

Happy #Songkran, whether you're in Thailand or somewhere else.

@CaptG2 @jedirich_ @Bellagio First, get facts straight: MGM operates, but *does not own*, Bellagio, MGM Grand, Aria. Second: as I previously stated, they were above zero in profits - but significantly less so in 2025 than in 2024. I linked directly to MGM's earnings release if you care to verify.

@cfnine @jedirich_ @Bellagio MGM's Las Vegas properties (specifically the Las Vegas Strip Resorts segment, which includes their core owned and operated properties on the Strip like Bellagio, MGM Grand, Aria, etc.) were profitable in 2025.

Sure… Vegas is “dead.” Meanwhile, inside the Bellagio Conservatory — packed every day. Here’s the reality people don’t want to admit: Vegas didn’t die… it filtered. Post-Covid, they let anyone in just to survive. Cheap rooms, chaos, TikTok fights, people crying about $20 water in the desert. Now? That era’s over. Prices went up. Vibe cleaned up. And the people who can actually afford to be here showed back up. If you think Vegas is dead… you’re probably just not the target customer anymore. And judging by the crowds — they’re perfectly fine with that.

@jedirich_ @CaptG2 @Bellagio MGM's profits are *not* up. 2024 net income $1.06 billion, 2025 net income $0.52 billion. Earnings per share: 2024 $2.42/share, 2025 $0.77 filecache.investorroom.com/mr5ir_mgmresor…

@CaptG2 @Bellagio Exactly. 💯 Profits are up because spend per visitor is up. That’s the shift people aren’t seeing here.

@ellie_huxtable Unique email address shouldn't be a constraint. There are still some people who share an address with another person (usually a spouse), further, there may be valid reasons for a person (including admins & devs) to have multiple accounts and re-use an email address.

spot the error from a younger, dumber me

@SurvivorAtlas But your proposal concentrates the money even further... instead of a group winning and splitting their prize share among the 4 or 8 of them (which also means there are far fewer distinct players than entries), you're suggesting a single-payer, no-teams format.

Circa should add a true single-bullet survivor side event. 1 entry per person. 1 payee per entry. It’s thrilling in a different way. Call it Lonedissimo Supremo or w/e. More contests like the WSOP. Different psychologies. Grandissimo showed there’s appetite for alternative formats. 69 entries at $100k is major validation. Broaden the ladder. Yes, it slightly cannibalizes the world's premier Survivor contest. That’s fine. The bigger a winner-take-all prize pool gets, the more organized capital it attracts. That’s the gravity of big money. So the question becomes what kind of ecosystem you want. If chops/swaps/deals aren’t part of the long-term vision for #CircaSurvivor, depth may matter more than pushing the flagship higher and higher. Poker tournaments spreads the money out. Survivor concentrates it. That’s why depth of contests may matter more than just raising the headline number.

@Pejuola_a Any manager "shocked" by one of their employees resigning (especially a highly-competent one) isn't a very experienced manager and almost surely, not very good at managing.

I process resignations for a living. The ones that shock management the most? The quiet, high-performing employees. Not the complainers. The ones who smiled, said nothing, and applied elsewhere. Silence is the loudest resignation letter.

@MrPitbull07 Are you quoting "Amanda from FB" verbatim including the photo, or are you taking her photo and writing a fictional story behind it? What exactly is "Mr Pitbull"'s contribution here?

I don’t usually make posts like this, but last night was one for the books. You ever have a dinner where everything about the service ruins the whole experience? That was me last night. From the second we sat down, the waitress had an attitude. No smile, no “how are you guys tonight?”, just a heavy sigh like we were ruining her night by even showing up. I brushed it off at first because maybe she was just having a long shift. But then it got worse. She took our order like it was a chore. We asked a couple questions about the menu and she acted like we were bothering her—rolling her eyes, cutting us off, and walking away mid-sentence before we even finished talking. Drinks? Took forever. Refills? Forget it. Plates? Thrown down on the table like she was in a rush to leave. At one point, she actually snapped when I asked politely if we could get silverware because, surprise, none was brought out. The kicker? The food was fine, but the way she hovered with the check before we were even halfway done eating made it feel like she was trying to rush us out the door. No thank you, no checking in, nothing. Just pure attitude from start to finish. Now here’s where it gets funny: the check came out to almost $500 after their “non-cash adjustment” fee (don’t even get me started on that little scam). Then at the bottom, it suggests I tip her ANOTHER $100+ on top. After the way we were treated? Absolutely not. And trust me, I tip well when someone actually does their job—but last night she earned exactly what’s written on that receipt: ZERO. People always say “you have to tip no matter what.” I disagree. A tip is earned. A smile costs nothing. Respect costs nothing. And if you can’t bring that bare minimum to the table, don’t expect me to fork over an extra $100 just because it’s customary. I didn’t leave a tip, and I don’t feel bad about it one bit. Some might say I’m petty, but I say enough is enough. If you treat your customers like trash, don’t expect them to pay you like royalty. What do you think—am I wrong here, or was I right to finally take a stand? Credit: Amanda via FB

@dizznubzz @BillKrackman Nope. Can go as low as 75% in Nevada. Easily verifiable. gaming.nv.gov/siteassets/con… page 183

This is a recent photo of the inside motherboard of a slot machine. The casinos are squeezing the public and making the RTP(return to player)on the machines lower and lower. This machine 83.96%, You have almost no chance of winning on machines this low. Every single time you push the button you lose 45 cents on a 3 dollar bet. At 500 spins an hour you are losing $225 an hour. Very few people even make 1/4 of that per hour. They are just draining our pockets and giving us less and less in return

@VitalVegas Instead of hole-carding, try a GLI-certified blackjack game where you can (legally) see ALL the dealer cards before making any hit/stand decisions - play.dealerfirstblackjack.com And if you're a casino exec who wants a new game that appeals to novices and experienced players, DM me.

In blackjack, “hole carding” is a technique where a player catches a glimpse of the dealer’s face-down card (the “hole card”) and uses that information to make mathematically optimal decisions. It’s not illegal, some don’t consider it cheating, but casinos frown upon it.

@WallStreetApes Buffalo Wild Wings had the worst wings I've ever eaten, and that was 10 years ago. I refuse to believe quality could have dropped when it was already at zero.

If you’ve been to Buffalo Wild Wings lately you know how horrible the quality has dropped This American wanted to find out why He researched and found it’s been acquired by a Private Equity Firm and they changed to a cheaper supplier and drastically cut quality for profits “I looked it up and sure enough, they had been acquired by private equity. Rourke Capital acquired Buffalo Wild Wings in 2017 — The 3 ways that they impacted the brand. The first is cost control. By focusing on tightening labor and supplier margins, they were able to increase their profit. One of my friends who worked for a competitor explained that they changed suppliers to a cheaper chicken supplier without led to lower quality wings.” He explains the other changes they’ve made Private equity has never made a single businesses better

@girdley Exact same phenomenon took down Denny's. Was easy to get 20% off via coupons & key tags. Stock price straight up all thru 2010's. New CEO ended key tags, got stingy on coupons (via app), eventually switched to an awful, confusing loyalty program. Lost 2/3 of value, bought by PE.

Both Bed Bath & Beyond and JCPenney got middle-class shoppers addicted to the "game" of pricing high, then offering coupons and deals. Rich CEOs came in and said, "No customer would ever want that!" Then went to "everyday fair" prices. Customers stopped coming in, and both failed. So many CEOs forget they aren't their own target market.

@MUSICANDBUILDS It's not that the same job would pay less outside of NYC, it's that it doesn't exist. Big finance, marketing, fashion, major media don't have headquarters in Savannah. And even if you're waiting tables, you can't audition for Broadway from "down South"

I used to ask my New York friends Who were living in nyc check to check With a 80- 100k a year salary Why not move down south Where you can make that 100k Really feel like 100k And you can have a home a yard And more luxuries And they loved nyc so much that even though it made logical sense to move They would rather struggle And say “I live in NYC” Than ball and say I live in “Charlotte, Savannah, Charleston” Which would give them a better quality of life It took me a while to realize that The big city is so much a part of their identity Even if its pricing them out and has them living next to mice It’s so much apart of them that if they can’t say “I live in nyc” to someone who doesn’t They would lose part of their whole identity I say all that to say Chicago people are the same way

@capjack2000 You are correct that online casinos would likely be far worse for society than sports betting - but that doesn't make widespread online sports betting, on credit, harmless. Regulation and governance has been awful, mostly to protect pre-existing casino & racetrack interests

If you ever want to do away with all the NEGATIVE stories about sports betting addiction and how bad it is...just do this:

@MeltzVegas Gross Gaming Revenue was $8.8 billion for 12 months ending Dec 2024 (LV Strip $1mm+), as reported by NGCB. The Abstract is deducting a massive $3 billion in comps (53% above prior year!) from the gross number. That's 35% of gaming revenue spent on comps!!

2000 vs 2024 Vegas Strip revenue splits.

@JonnyRoot_ If you had one opportunity to ask Tom Brady a question, and chose to ask him how does it feel to be a 3-time Super Bowl loser, he'd be plenty justified in reminding you that he'd won 7 and laugh in your face

Outside of being a traitor to the United States, interactions like this, make Eileen Gu even more unlikeable… This was a fine question, that she spun into an insult. “I’m ThE MosT DeCoRateD FeMalE SkIeR” 🙄 Get over yourself.

@myohmizmai They were totally unprepared for an off-script result, which is ironic since NBC covered Biles, Shiffrin, etc. Weir & Lipinski also never explained to the audience that reducing a quad to a single/double is much worse, points-wise, than falling on a quad x.com/cfnine/status/…

Super interesting read, and I found this part the most interesting. NBC's broadcast plan was based on the assumption that "everyone assumed would be a coronation." At worst, there would be "upset," but that seemed "unlikely." awfulannouncing.com/nbc/ilia-malin…

@MarcoRizzolo @CarlZha The reporter said that, and you agreed because you initially dismissed women's freeskiing, then any woman-against-woman sport - "no competition"

@cfnine @CarlZha I never said she was a loser. You said that.

"I'm the most decorated female skier in history" Eileen Gu laughs at the reporter's question "whether she sees it as 2 silver gained or 2 gold lost"

@MarcoRizzolo @CarlZha Ok dude, so according to you Serena Williams is a loser too? Maybe log off for a while before you embarrass yourself further.

@cfnine @CarlZha It's women against women. 🤣 Literally no competition. Male golf has been around a long time. Jack Nicklaus went up against top notch competition.

@MarcoRizzolo @CarlZha Why? Majors are the pinnacle of golf tournaments, Olympics are the pinnacle of freeskiing competitions.

@cfnine @CarlZha Fair point. But comparing golf and women's skiing is a bit crazy, no?

@MarcoRizzolo @CarlZha The reporter implied she was a "loser" in his question, she has the right to remind him of her accomplishments. It's a little like talking to Phil Mickelson about "losing" a bunch of US Opens, wouldn't blame him for pointing out he's won 6 majors

@CarlZha Flexing about something that doesn't matter and has literally no impact on the world: "I'm the most decorated female skier in history".

@MichaelKudrna @MichaelPacifi20 Marketing brainstorm... old lady orders from those other fast food places, expresses dissatisfaction* with the quantity of the portions provided, finally goes to Wendy's where both the quality and quantity meet her expectations *need to invent some kind of viral "catchphrase"

@MichaelPacifi20 I see the upside you speak of I don't believe they understand how to get it done may require new leadership

Every restaurant owner knows "deals" don't work if you don't market it properly and offer a reason other than cheap You just sacrifice margin to being in traffic as a desperation move $wen hasn't shown they understand this yet On top of it, operations require a reason to keep coming back. Again, Wendy's hasn't shown they understand this yet either Maybe they do, but they haven't shown reason to believe they do Chili's and McDonald's are expert level at understanding this