Amidst all the gloom-and-doom talk about the U.S. economy, one sector is doing better than ever: gambling. 2Q22 was an industry-best and the year is on track to be the biggest in history (despite curtailments in international play). The American Gaming Association reported $14.8 billion in casino revenue for the last quarter, 9% better than a year previous. 2021’s final tally was $53 million and 2022 is on pace to shoot well past that. Factor in record tribal-gaming revenues ($39 billion in fiscal year 2021) and it’s time to pop the champagne corks in the C-suites. Slot play was flat year/year but table win surged 18%. AGA President Bill Miller tempered his enthusiasm by saying, “we are cognizant of the continued impacts of inflation and labor challenges, as well as marketplace concerns of potential recession.”
“Our members have proven their agility and resilience over the last two years,” Miller continued, “and are well-positioned to face these potential headwinds heading into the second half” of 2022. Gaming analyst Brendan Bussmann was less convinced, telling the Las Vegas Review-Journal‘s Richard Velotta, “I know I sound like a broken record but we are in unprecedented times, with inflation harkening back to the 1970s, supply chain issues, fuel prices teetering at record levels and a geopolitical landscape that hasn’t been seen in decades.” However, if any recessionary dominoes should fall, he continued, the Las Vegas Strip would be one of the last to do so (and locals play one of the first).
Sports betting and Internet casinos did their part, contributing $1.4 billion and $1.2 billion respectively (which says more about i-casino play, restricted to six states). There are, however, some signs of normalization of demand. June revenues were up only 2.5% compared to April’s 13% and May’s 11%, as discretionary income decreases. As for his tribal partners, Miller had this to say: “Tribal gaming demonstrated its responsible leadership throughout the pandemic and these record results reflect that commitment. The full recovery and ongoing success of tribal casinos go well beyond the casino floor to support vibrant communities across the country.” We quite agree.
As though to confirm that the second half of 2022 would represent a cooling-off period, Indiana reported 4% lower casino revenue, a gross of $221 million. Hard Rock Northern Indiana continues to pull away from the competition, with $37 million (+15%). Horseshoe Hammond responded with $29 million, a 20% declivity, while Ameristar East Chicago dove 22% to $17.5 million. Blue Chip completed the northern tier with $12 million, -11%. Horseshoe Indianapolis racino was flat at an enviable $31 million while Harrah’s Hoosier Park brought in $22 million (-3%). Rebranding continues to benefit Bally’s Evansville, jumping 13.5% to $16 million, while perennial also-ran French Lick Resort had a good month, up 2.5% to $7.5 million.
Rising Star rose not, flat at $4 million while Belterra Park slipped 4% to $9 million. Caesars Southern Indiana dipped 1% to $22 million and Horseshoe Lawrenceburg was down 2% to $15 million. Sports books realized $21 million in revenue on $206.5 million of handle, with FanDuel and DraftKings grappling for first place. BetMGM and Caesars Sportsbook were comfortably in the picture, while BetRivers, Barstool Sports and PointsBet were just blips on the radar.
We can’t recall offhand a case of regulators dictating staffing levels but that selfsame drama is playing out right now in Massachusetts. The state Gaming Commission thinks MGM Springfield should be employing a pre-pandemic 444 table game dealers and pit bosses, not the current 269. And it’s not just MGM (which, to be fair, has also downsized its slot inventory): Encore Boston Harbor, which has actually grown its table-game inventory, has cut its poker tables by 80%. You’d think the casinos know what their customers want and what the market will support, but you haven’t met MGC Chairwoman Cathy Judd-Stein, who huffed “the reason why this is important is the less table games they have, the more they look like a slots parlor. And that’s not … what you and your legislative colleagues envisioned back when gaming was expanded. We want the full complement of games, not only because that’s what our patrons want, but also the jobs that are attached.”
MGM didn’t help its case by waffling on the issue, promising to address it at some vague future point. Table games have long been a weak spot for MGM Springfield and management was right to curtail them. Of course, MGM probably wouldn’t admit that business was poor, however true it might be. When it comes to appropriate levels of gambling inventory, we’re not going to second-guess the casino bosses. For instance, as Encore has made inroads into Plainridge Park, the latter has slashed its slot count from 1,320 to 946. Should it put more one-armed bandits back on the floor just because Judd-Stein has a bee in her bonnet? This is a business matter, one of free-market economics, and Bay State regulators should butt the hell out.
Jottings: Continuing to fail upward, Resorts Atlantic City prexy Mark Giannantonio has been named the new supremo of the Casino Association of New Jersey, replacing Joe Lupo (from the sublime … ). A former hatchet man for Columbia Sussex at the Tropicana Atlantic City, Giannantonio has lasted an inexplicable 10 years at Resorts, for which he must be congratulated … Another former ColSux victim, the Tropicana Las Vegas, will pass into the hands of Bally’s Corp. very soon indeed. Despite pressure from the Oakland Athletics to dynamite the old gal and build a baseball stadium on the site, Bally’s priority is Chicago now and it admits it doesn’t have the lift to redo the Trop site without a JV partner … Have you forgotten the Colorado Belle in Laughlin? We had. It’s been closed for 29 months and owner Golden Entertainment is mulling its options for the property, according to the Nevada Independent. “I think the capacity that we currently have with the rooms and the casino inventory is sufficient for what we see going forward down there,” said CEO Blake Sartini, hinting at redevelopment. “That market at some point could use a significant traffic driver.” … The rains of Ranchipur once more visited the Las Vegas Strip, flooding Caesars Palace, Planet Hollywood and The Linq garage. Again. “Never have I seen rain this torrential like I saw this evening,” said Richard Henderson from Vancouver, where they know from rain. We’re just waiting for Caesars Entertainment CEO Tom Reeg to tell us (again) what great publicity this is.
Talking about gambling revenues being high is like talking about the healthy state of a train company and ignoring those who say there are issues with the track around the bend but since they can’t see it everything is ok so let’s ignore it.