A second running of the Las Vegas Grand Prix has come and gone, without moving the needle on the Las Vegas Strip. In fact, baccarat play was dreadful. Casino takings fell 18%, as players wagered 8.5% less on the game. Wasn’t Formula One supposed to bring in the whales? Guess again. The one Strip growth area was a low-roller one: slot play. Coin-in was up 5.5%. But Lady Luck was with the players, who made the casinos pay in the form of a 2.5% decline in one-armed bandit income. Table game revenues also suffered, down 5% on 9% less wagering.
Some F1 apologists like Steve Shill, er, Hill of the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority, are going to wail, “But it would have been so much worse without the race!” And they’ll point to a 4.5% declivity in Las Vegas local-casino action or a statewide -4% for November. But is the Strip’s -4% that much more impressive. We think not, especially when it’s down against November 2023, the first running of the Grand Prix. Seems the bloom is off that rose. But don’t tell that to the pimps who are cramming F1 down the throats of unwilling Las Vegans.
Strip casinos salvaged $788.5 million from race month, while locals gambling houses aggregated $245 million. Downtown suffered notably less than the Strip, off 2.5%. A real whammy was laid on the Boulder Strip, which plunged 20.5% to $66 million, while Laughlin tumbled a steep 15.5% to $34 million. Faring better were North Las Vegas, up 6% to $24.5 million, and miscellaneous Clark County, up 2.5% to $154.5 million. Mesquite saw a robust 9% climb to $16.5 million, as similarly Utah-facing Wendover jumped 8% to $23 million. If Wendover is Nevada‘s economic barometer—and it is—the forecast is very good indeed. Well, maybe not in Reno, which toppled 10.5% to $52 million, even as neighboring Sparks was up 8% to $15 million. It’s always feast or famine on Lake Tahoe, which was a famished $14.5 million, sinking 20%.
Before leaving Nevada, we note that Big Gaming has managed to find a means of cashing in on the Los Angeles-area wildfires. Earlier this week, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that Strip casinos (specifically hard-up Resorts World Las Vegas) were offering rooms to people displaced by the conflagration. Not free, mind you, but at a discount. It’s going to be a cold day in Hell when somebody in Big Gaming runs out of ideas for making a buck. That someone isn’t going to be Affinity Gaming CEO Scott “Woody” Butera, who is tub-thumping via press release for $29/night rooms at Buffalo Bill’s and Primm Valley Resort. (They’re not worth $29, Woody.) At least Affinity is waiving pet fees and resort fees, so give them props for that. Still, Butera is probably kicking himself for having already closed Whiskey Pete’s. For those who would call cheap rooms charity, we defer to the canine philosopher Snoopy, who unforgettably asked, “Would you give a starving dog a rubber bone?”
Sports betting revenues have been busted out by Maryland for the month of December. They show books plunging 23% in revenue to $46.5 million. That is despite $619.5 million in handle, a 14% surge. Obviously, NFL favorites are winning—and so are bettors. And we couldn’t be happier for them. (Hold was an anemic 7.5%.) Even so, FanDuel was well out front on revenue with $25.5 million. DraftKings contented itself with $13 million, while BetMGM‘s $3 million had to be good for third place. Fanatics realized $2.5 million, surpassing Caesars Sportsbook‘s $1 million. Despite a 44% surge in win, BetRivers performed quite poorly—though not as dismally as ESPN Bet, which saw the bottom fall out in the form of a 91% revenue collapse.
Superficially healthier than Nevada was the casino industry in Indiana, whose $205.5 million last month bettered 2023 by 2% and boffo 2019 by 11%. But when Hard Rock Northern Indiana and Terre Haute Casino are subtracted, Hoosier State casinos were down 4% year over year and 9% from 2019. Despite being 1% off its feed, Hard Rock ($36 million) continued to put a beatdown on Ameristar East Chicago ($13.5 million, -10.5%) and especially Horseshoe Hammond ($20 million, -14.5%). Blue Chip got thumped 7.5% (to $11 million) but that’s usually reflective of tribal competition from Michigan. Mid-state, Horseshoe Indianapolis slipped 2% to $26 million but Harrah’s Hoosier Park saw a 4% gain to reach $19 million.
Lilliputian Rising Star had the roughest month, plummeting 20% to $3.5 million. The only revenue-positive casino in the southern tier was tribal Caesars Southern Indiana, up 3% to $22 million. Bally’s Evansville was flat with $14.5 million, whilst Hollywood Lawrenceburg was down a point to $13.5 million. Terre Haute Casino made $11 million, Belterra Resort did $7.5 million, down 8%, and French Lick Casino took a 5.5% licking to finish with $7 million.
Sports betting saw revenues plunge 38% even as handle leapt 12% to $563 million. Hold was an abysmal 5.5%. DraftKings was tops, relatively, with $12 million, followed by FanDuel‘s $9 million. At the other end of the spectrum, ESPN Bet eked out a million, less than BetMGM ($2.5 million), Bet365 ($1.5 million) and Caesars Sportsbook ($1.5 million).
Chill winds also were felt in the casinos of Missouri, which finished up with $164.5 million, down 3% from the previous December, albeit 13% better than 2019. Hollywood St. Louis was one of the few gainers, up 4.5% but its $22.5 million still wasn’t in shouting distance of Ameristar St. Charles ($26.5 million, -1%). Sister property River City did $23 million, up 6% and making it a good December for Penn Entertainment in the Show-Me State. No such luck for Horseshoe St. Louis, plunging 11% to $12.5 million. Penn’s luck held in Kansas City, where Argosy Riverside was flat for $14 million, compared to sharp declines elsewhere: -10.5% at Bally’s Kansas City ($10.5 million), -8% at Harrah’s North Kansas City ($14.5 million) and -8% at market leader Ameristar Kansas City. New product sure made a difference for Century Caruthersville, leaping 18.5% to $5 million. Ditto Century Cape Girardeau, edging up 2.5% to $6 million. Everyone else was down.