Category: Casino News

Continued strength in casinos was shown by Ohio, which posted $193.5 million in gambling revenue in June. That’s 2% higher than already-strong last year and a whopping 20% over 2o19, which was none too shabby either. Hollywood Columbus came out roaring, up 10% to $23 million, which still wasn’t enough to catch slots-only MGM Northfield Park, gaining 5% to almost reach $25 million. Churchill Downs‘ joint-venture Miami Valley Racing vaulted 12% and into second place among racinos with $19 million, besting Scioto Downs, down a point to $18.5 million. Other casinos not doing too shabbily were Jack Cleveland, flat at $22 million, and Hard Rock Cincinnati, off a point to $20 million. Hollywood Toledo was an also-ran with $18 million, minus 2.5%.

Kentucky Derby fallout continues to reverberate around Churchill Downs, leading to a 2Q23 earnings miss. A mass die-off of horses during the Run for the Roses caused the flagship track to be closed and races shifted to Ellis Park. Cash flow for the company slipped to $364 million, 4% under Wall Street‘s consensus forecast. Net revenues ($769 million) were comparably down. All that being said, live and “historical” racing were the least off-pace, down 3%, versus online TwinSpires‘ 13% and casino gambling’s 4% declivity.

Shame on the District of Columbia. Its embattled leadership has yanked away $200,000 in funding for treatment of disordered gambling. You’d think that would be a priority item for a city whose government is partly funded by sports betting … but you’d think wrong. Problem gamblers hoping to get help close to home have received a ‘Drop dead’ message from City Hall. “The Department of Behavioral Health is committed to providing a range of services in the public behavioral health care system to meet the needs of all residents,” a spokesman proclaimed airily. It’s that those services are no longer germane to problem-gambling treatment.

You’ll have to fall back on Gamblers Anonymous or the National Council for Problem Gambling‘s helpline. “Treatment and support services for problem gambling disorder currently are available through a network of DBH-certified community-based providers,” said the mouthpiece, deftly passing the buck. What he neglects to mention is that if you don’t have private insurance you’re pretty much SOL.

Beating Wall Street expectations comfortably, Las Vegas Sands reported cash flow of $973 million yesterday. Wall Street had expected $939 million from the second quarter while a more optimistic Joseph Greff of J.P. Morgan had projected $964 million. Macao-derived revenues continue to climb, hitting $530 million for 2Q23 (Greff had anticipated $548 million). Mass-market play continues to be Sands’s savior, with premium mass at 93% of pre-pandemic levels while bread-and-butter gamblers have achieved 77% of their prior volume. June was particularly strong for Macao, with a boffo $200 million in EBITDA achieved in the final month of the quarter. However, the Street expects far more from the third and fourth quarters: $617 million and $701 million respectively. Interestingly, while Chinese provinces are still below 2019 visitation numbers, Hong Kong players are all the way back and then some—102% of where they were before a little ditty called Covid-19.