Casino revenues in Maryland slumped last month, down 2.5% to $160 million. At least Horseshoe Baltimore had something to crow about, leaping 12% to $15 million. Rocky Gap Resort was also up, plus 1.5% to $4 million and validating Century Casinos‘ turnaround talk. MGM National Harbor (above) dove 7% to $68.5 million and chief rival Maryland Live was flat at $59 million. Ocean Downs dipped 3% to $7 million and Hollywood Perryville was 2% off to $7 million.
Further up the coast, sports betting in New York State generated $259.5 million online from handle of $2.4 billion, meaning 11% hold. Handle surged 11% while books kept 39.5% more than in December 2024. In its first month, theScore impressed with $3.5 million. Unfortunately, analyst Steven Pizzella doesn’t break out Fanatics separately, but it probably had the lion’s share of “other” ($24 million). Caesars Sportsbook bested MGM Bet, $14.5 million to $13 million, whilst FanDuel lost handle share to DraftKings. But the former still came out ahead, $120 million to $84 million.
Gamblers were also active in Illinois. Its casinos surged 6.5% on a same-store basis. The variant was Fairmount Park, scraping up $2 million. Rivers Des Plaines was up 6% to a dominant $45.5 million and Wind Creek Southland was a solid second, with $17 million. Bally’s Casino subsided 3.5% to $10 million, while The Temporary at American Place in Waukegan leapt 13% to $11 million. There was no loss of novelty at Hollywood Joliet, vaulting 47.5% to $11 million. Harrah’s Joliet, meanwhile, continued to suffer, down 7% to $9 million. Hollywood Aurora, playing out the string, slipped 6.5% to $8 million. Hard Rock Rockford suffered a rare down month, dipping 2.5% to $12 million. Venerable Grand Victoria picked up business, rising 8.5% to $12.5 million.
In the St. Louis area, DraftKings Casino Queen had an absolutely dreadful month, plunging 33 to $5.5 million. Nearby Argosy Alton was flat at $2.5 million. Another casino living on borrowed time, Par-A-Dice, was up 3% to $5 million, while Bally’s Quad Cities hopped 2.5% to $5.5 million. Golden Nugget Danville was flat at $3.5 million and Walker’s Bluff Casino jumped 10% to $3.5 million.
Across the Big Muddy, casinos in Missouri did almost as well, up 4.5%. As usual, Ameristar St. Charles was tops with $27 million, up 3.5%. Heavy Caesars Entertainment promotional activity was clearly going on in both St. Louis and Kansas City, with Horseshoe St. Louis jumping 16% to $15.5 million and Harrah’s North Kansas City leaping 19% to $17 million. Horseshoe may have shaved some action off Hollywood St. Louis, down a point to $22 million, but didn’t make a dent in Ameristar or RIver City, which was up 2.5% to $23.5 million. Harrah’s was breathing down the neck of Ameristar Kansas City, flat at $17 million, and zipped past both Bally’s Kansas City ($10.5 million, flat) and Argosy Riverside ($14 million, 1.5%). Century Casinos continued to boom in Caruthersville, up 9.5% to $5 million, but Cape Girardeau leveled off at $6 million. Isle of Capri Boonville (Caesars) was up 5.5% to $8 million, St. Jo Frontier jumped 6% to $4 million and Mark Twain Casino vaulted 16% to $3 million, without the benefit of table games.
The Midwest’s party was spoilt by Indiana, where casino takings sagged 3.5%. Hard Rock Northern Indiana was flat at $36 million and it was one of the month’s better performers. Horseshoe Hammond (above) sank 10.5% to $18 million, Ameristar East Chicago fell 13% to $11 million and Michigan-facing Blue Chip dove 10% to $9.5 million. Seems that Wind Creek Southland is doing what Bally’s Casino couldn’t: taking a big chomp out of Hoosier State business. Now that tiny Rising Star may be vacating the Ohio River in favor of Fort Wayne, customers have rediscovered it, as it surged 12% to $4 million. Some lawmakers also want to put it in Indianapolis, under burdensome terms ($750 million minimum investment, for one). Caesars Entertainment is not too thrilled about that. Its two Indianapolis-area racinos performed moderately well. Harrah’s Hoosier Park was flat $21 million while Horseshoe Indianapolis slipped 3% to a second-place $28.5 million.
Terre Haute Casino gained 4.5% to $11.5 million, Belterra Resort slipped 3% to $7 million and Bally’s Evansville was down 2% to $14 million. French Lick Resort took an -11% licking to $6.5 million, Hollywood Lawrenceburg fell 6.5% to $12.5 million and fan favorite Caesars Southern Indiana was off 4.5% to $21 million.
Gridiron Grumbles: We said a couple of weeks back that the Pittsburgh Steelers didn’t belong in the playoffs and, boy, did they show it last night, as they were slaughtered by the Houston Texans, 30-6. The rightly vaunted Houston defense made it all the more impressive that the Las Vegas Raiders were able to hang three TDs on it late in the season. As for the Steelers, they simply couldn’t execute and ancient QB Aaron Rodgers looked all of his 42 years and then some, simply knocked aside like a rag doll late in the game as Houston returned a Rodgers interception for a touchdown. He needs to go and so does (we write sadly) coach Mike Tomlin. Meanwhile, the New England Patriots can look forward to a formidable challenge from the dangerous Texans next weekend.
That Patriots game against the impotent Los Angeles Chargers last Sunday was such a snooze that we changed channels at halftime to the Golden Globes. Otherwise, wild card weekend more than lived up to the hype, as the Buffalo Bills proved that, yes, they can win on the road (and that nothing stops Josh Allen) and the Green Bay Packers underestimated the resilience of the Chicago Bears. And yes, the Philadelphia Eagles can add another postseason collapse to their curriculum vitae, as they fell to a shorthanded San Francisco 49ers squad. As for the Carolina Panthers, an early exit is what any team that crawls into the playoffs at 8-9 deserves, but they sure gave the Los Angeles Rams a fright.
Meanwhile, the NFL‘s worst team—yes, the Raiders—is debating whether to hang onto the top draft pick (by golly, yes!) or trade it away. Given Mark Davis‘ decision-making skills (on a par with his choice of hair stylists), we expect the Silver & Black to trade it for some flabby footballs and a rusty air pump. Davis is also auditioning potential new coaches. The Raider owner is an impatient man and needs to hire someone for the long haul, not the guy who promises long-term success immediately. Pete Carroll already did that. Didn’t work out so well.