Boyd Gaming is allowing B Connected and Prime Rewards card holders the chance to win $30,000 in prize money each week in Las Vegas’ longest running football contest.

There are no accumulated points and each week the contest starts anew, meaning locals and out of town guest can equally participate and increase their winnings with multiple weeks of participation.

The total prize pool for the Pick the Pros contest running throughout the 2010 regular professional football season from September 12, 2010 through January 2, 2011 is $500,000.

Registration is free and participants will pick only a straight up or down winner for each professional game. The hire the cardholder ranks the more free entries they will receive each week.

The top prize will be awarded to the member with the best outcome on the their picks with a grand weekly prize of $10,000 and an additional $20,000 split between all top players on a weekly basis.

Since 2008, Delta Downs Racetrack Casino Hotel, owned by Boyd Gaming Corp, has been paying a purse valued at $750,000 for the race, however as per the recent announcement the Louisiana horse racing track will return to the original purse of $1 million.

“We are committed to making the $1 million Delta Jackpot one of the most important 2-year-old stakes on the national racing calendar,” said Paul Chakmak, chief operating officer of Boyd Gaming. “The late-November date and the $1 million purse will provide a path for a run at the 2011 Triple Crown.”

Boyd Gaming also announced that the race, now in its eight year, will be run two weeks earlier on November 20, 2010 with an earlier start time of 4 pm.

Last month Boyd was seeking approval from New Jersey regulators to complete the $950 million financing deal through its 50/50 joint venture with MGM Resorts International, Marina District Development Company.

Financing included a $400 million tranche of senior secured notes due October 2015, a $400 million tranche of senior secured notes due August 2018 and $150 million payment priority secured revolving credit line that will mature in August 2014.

Boyd withdrew $75 million at closing to pay transaction fees and expenses and make a one-time distribution to Borgata’s joint venture partner.

The downgrade came just hours after financial results were released showing that the local gambling sector in Las Vegas was slow to recover and that the company’s gaming operations in the Midwest and South had performed poorly over the quarter.

Michael Paladino, an analyst at Fitch questioned when business would pick up and added that Boyd had been seeing steady improvements prior to the last quarter.

With net revenue down 5.9% to $578.4 million, Boyd’s issuer default rating was dropped from “B+” to “B”. Fitch also lowered the rating on Boyd’s senior secured credit facility from “BB-/RR3” to “B+/RR3″ and its senior subordinated debt from “B-/RR6″ to “CCC/RR6″.

Fitch is also maintaining a “Negative” rating outlook which means that they could possibly downgrade Boyd’s credit standing in the near future.

Last year, Station filed for bankruptcy protection from $5.6 billion in debt and has been approved by the judge to enter the opening bid of $772 million through a newly formed venture Fertitta Gaming.

Boyd Gaming has made two separate offers to purchase rival Station Casinos Las Vegas properties, but both times was rejected. Boyd’s first offer of $950 million was made just five months before Station entered bankruptcy and the second came this past December with an offer of $2.45 billion.

Boyd said they would not participate in the auction because the bidding procedures favor Station Casinos founders and lead investors and had limited potential value given the size of the stalking horse bid.

While Boyd remains focused on growth, Chief Executive Officer Keith Smith said that Boyd “will only pursue transactions that are financially sound, fit well with our existing business, and offer attractive long-term returns for our shareholders. Clearly, this opportunity no longer meets these criteria.”

Analysts on average expected Boyd to report earnings of $0.11 a share on revenue of $551 million, however second quarter earnings showed that after accounting for one-time items, the regional casino operator had earnings of only $0.05 a share. Prior to the adjustments Boyd posted a net income of $3.4 million.

Net revenue fell 5.9% to $578.4 million.

Boyd cited the slow stabilization of Las Vegas and poor performance in the Midwest and Southern regions for the decline. In Las Vegas revenue fell 7.8% while casinos in the Midwest and South saw a decline in revenue of 7.9%.

Analysts are predicting Boyd to report earnings of $0.11 a share on revenue of $551 million.

Last week Boyd released preliminary earnings for the Atlantic City Borgata Resort reporting that net revenue had fallen 2.4% to $186.9 million. The release came early as Boyd was seeking approval from New Jersey regulators to acquire $100 million in financing for the resort.

In the previous quarter Boyd beat analyst’s expectations of $0.07 a share, reporting net earnings of $8.4 million or $0.10 a share. While revenue had fallen 5% during the quarter, an increase in gaming revenue and hotel room revenue coupled with reduced expenses offset the decline.

Shares of BYD were up during today’s trading session breaking through the $9.00 barrier to close the market at $9.01. Today’s closing price represents an increase of $0.55 from the previous session’s closing price of $8.46.

Marina District Finance Co, a joint venture between Boyd Gaming and MGM Resorts International is planning a two part sale of the $725 million senior secured notes due in 2015 and 2018.

Boyd will use the funds raised during the offering to pay down its existing line of credit due in early 2011 and pay a dividend payment to the partner’s divestiture trust.

Shares of BYD stock have been on the rise in anticipation of financials, closing yesterday’s trading session up $0.56 to $9.00. Boyd spent the first half of last week trading in the $7 range before breaking the $8 mark on Wednesday July 21.

Boyd Gaming will release second quarter financials on Tuesday August 3. Analysts on average expect results in the $0.11 range.

While there has been no talk of what the Borgata subsidiary plans to do with the cash, they are currently seeking approval from the New Jersey Casino Control Commission to move forward with the financing deal.

In the report, Boyd said that net revenue at the Borgata fell 2.4% to $186.9 million citing a reduction in day trips during the month of June, steeper competition from neighboring casinos in Pennsylvania, higher energy cost and a drop in casino win.

During the quarter, table game win at the Borgata was down by 11.8% from 14.2% in the same period last year.

“We’re confident our customers would notice no difference in the level of service they’d come to expect on our property,” David Strow, spokesman for Boyd Gaming said.

Gamblers winning more than $1,200 will have their names run through a database run by the Indiana Department of Child Services at the same time the winner is being issued a W-2G for federal tax reporting purposes.

The state is working closely with casinos including the Blue chip to develop and implement the program successfully by next year.

“We are working closely with the state to develop that system,” Strow said “and with other casino operators.”

Following suit with the “B Connected” players club, Boyd’s personalized mobile application “B Connected Mobile” allows members using the iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad application customized offers and expanded benefits.

The B Connected Mobile app offers exclusive hotel, dining and gaming offers, event information, show schedules, slot search, and the ability to track players club points and make immediate hotel or restaurant reservations at any Boyd Gaming property through the nationwide loyalty program.

“B Connected Mobile offers unique benefits and information to our guests, both before their visit and at the moment they walk through our door. In just two years, B Connected Online has established itself as one of the most heavily used player-loyalty websites in our industry, providing customer’s unparalleled ease of use and access to information. B Connected Mobile is another example of how we are using technology in creative new ways to deliver exceptional value to our customers,” said Paul Chakmak, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Boyd Gaming.

The unions’ contract expired at the end of October and union representatives have been in negotiations with the Michigan City casino for the past eight months.

The two year agreement will include retroactive pay increases, first time pension benefits and low cost health care coverage for non-managerial hospitality employees, as well as limit the use of part time employees.

“For the first time, we were able to open the door for a pension plan, while still holding onto health care with no cost to employees. Most importantly, we’ve seen a big increase in part-time employment at the casino this year, and we were able to put a stop to the number of part-time jobs that can be created with this new agreement.” said Jo Von Lindsey, a union employee at Blue chip.

During Monday’s after-hours session, Goldman Sachs lowered its 12 month price target on the casino operator from $10.50 to $9.00, while maintaining a Neutral rating on the stock.

BYD closed Monday’s session down $0.11 to $8.39, but managed to regain $0.15 to close today’s trading session at $8.54.

Boyd Gaming has not reached the previous price target of $10.50 since June 22 with a high of $10.64. The price did not hold and quickly began dropping.

Boyd stock reached a low for the month on July 7 at $7.60 and a high for the month of $8.77 on July 12.

Boyd is currently trading $1.61 above its 52 week low of $6.93 and $6.31 below its 52 week high of $14.85.

The Canadian Transportation Agency cited the casino resort for 10 flights made between June 2008 and March 2009 where transportation was arranged for the casinos top gamblers between Atlantic City and Montreal or Toronto without a Canadian aviation license.

The agency fined Boyd Gaming and the Borgata $25,000 for failure to have a proper license to conduct commercial flights into Canadian airspace.

However the Transportation Appeal Tribunal of Canada reviewed the case and ruled that the flights were private and not subject to Canada’s license law, with the appeal on the record the agency agreed to overturned the fine.

Joe Corbo, the Borgata’s general counsel noted that the Canadian government still has the right to appeal the panel’s decision.

In documents submitted to the appeals panel, Joe Corbo said the flights are a key ingredient in Borgata’s marketing strategy for high-end gamblers, who are contacted by their personal marketing representative and offered flights to the casino-hotel. Only the top echelon of casino customers warrants this level of service.

The new loyalty program will replace the “Club Coast” program used at the Gold Coast, Suncoast, Sam’s Town and The Orleans.

Paul Chakmak, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Boyd Gaming, said, “Given the nationwide popularity of our player loyalty program, we’re excited to unite our properties under the B Connected brand. With a single brand and more consistent rules, customers will find it easier than ever to reap the benefits of the B Connected program.”

Frequent gamblers using the rewards program will now have a longer period of time to qualify for a promotion to “Sapphire” or “Emerald” level and Reel slot machine players will receive double credit toward their card score, used to determine the promotion.

Members will enjoy several additional new benefits, including priority slot service, advance purchase of show tickets, and special gifts upon achieving Sapphire and Emerald level.

Boyd Gaming properties will celebrate the launch with a giveaway of up to $3.75 million in slot dollars during the first week of July.

On July 4, Gold Coast, Suncoast, Sam’s Town, The Orleans, Main Street Station, Fremont and the California will each be giving away up to $250,000 in slot dollars.

The New Jersey Casino Control Commission has approved a five year license renewal for the gaming company, under the condition that the ownership issue of MGM Resort Internationals 50% interest will be worked out in the next two years.

“We remain optimistic about operating in Atlantic City and are very proud of the Borgata,” said Keith Smith, CEO of Boyd Gaming “Over the last five years, we’ve continued to improve the product and deliver a great experience, and we’ll continue to build on that over the next five years and maintain our No. 1 position in the market.”

Since the resort opened in 2003, the Borgata has dominated the second largest U.S. gaming market producing 20.4% of the city’s table game revenue and 34% of the markets food and beverage revenues.

“Through an unprecedented economic downturn and increased regional competition, Borgata has continued to demonstrate its ability to remain a strong competitor in Atlantic City,” said commission chairwoman Linda Kassekert.

For the first time in 11 years the gaming vessel sailed the waters of the Illinois River as a part of a new annual requirement by the U.S. Coast Guard.

“It is a functioning vessel. We needed to take the cruise to make sure everything is working as it should and renew our certificate.” said David Strow, a spokesman for Boyd Gaming Corp.

The Par-A-Dive used to make 10 cruises a day when opened in November of 1991 but has been moored since 1999, when legislation was signed allowing riverboats to permanently anchor dockside.

Gaming operations had to be altered slightly in order to partake in the inspection, with the casino closing a half hour earlier and opening an hour later than normal.

Boyd’s stock fell 9.6% to close yesterday’s trading session at $10.77 from its opening price of $11.95. The company’s stock has continued to fall today down another $0.28 to $10.47 in the early afternoon hours.

Moody downgraded Boyd to “stable” due to their exposure to the Las Vegas gambling market, where earning at Boyd’s casinos have fallen.

Boyd’s Corporate Family Rating and Probability of Default Rating were lowered to B2 from B1. The company’s senior subordinated notes were lowered to Caa1 from B3. The ratings are considered non-investment grade.

Boyd’s SGL-3 Speculative Grade Liquidity rating was maintained.

Boyd owns and operates 16 casinos in Nevada, New Jersey, Mississippi, Illinois, Indiana and Louisiana and are currently exploring their options on purchasing assets from Station Casinos through a bankruptcy auction.

“The Las Vegas economy may take longer to recover than anticipated” Brian McGill wrote to clients in a research note this week.

Many investors are optimistic that with the gradual increase in business levels the area is on its way back to the levels of 2004 to 2007, however McGill disagrees.

“We do not see any reason for gaming spend per capita to meaningfully increase going forward, given the economic backdrop in Las Vegas,” he said.

McGill also said that increased competition in neighboring states will also have a negative impact on Boyd casinos across the nation.

“We believe that the period from 2004 to 2007 in the LV locals market was an aberration and should not be used as a future guide to the locals business. We also believe that Las Vegas Strip hotel rates are unlikely to increase meaningfully enough to drive ADRs at the BYD properties in the locals market. We have taken our EBITDA down for the Las Vegas locals business in 2011 to $171 mln from our previous estimate of $182 mln. We also see increased competition from table games in Pennsylvania which will negatively impact the Borgata. On the regional side, the opening of Gun Lake will add capacity in Michigan, which could have a minor negative impact on Blue Chip.”

The national research firm measures customer satisfaction in the hospitality industry and recently released its first-quarter 2010 survey results.

The report ranks The Orleans Hotel and Casino to be the top performer in the Las Vegas market with a score of 91.5, scoring higher than The Venetian Las Vegas who placed first in the upscale casino category with an 89.1.

According to the report, Boyd gaming also showed significant improvement with scores up 4 points to 90.3 for the Borgata Resort in Atlantic City, which they co-own with MGM Mirage.

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