Casino revenues were flat overall last month in Atlantic City, which grossed $203 million in the aggregate. The one really dramatic shift involved Hard Rock Atlantic City and Ocean Casino Resort. The former plunged 14% to $36 million, right in striking distance of Ocean, which surged 9.5% to $35.5 million. Borgata, meanwhile, jumped 7.5% to $53.5 million. What ails Hard Rock, we wonder? In the middle tier (i.e., Caesars Country), Harrah’s Resort fell 8.5% to $17 million, Caesars Atlantic City hopped 3.5% to $14.5 million and Tropicana Atlantic City was flat at $16 million. Bally’s Atlantic City jealously guarded last place ($10 million) despite a 6.5% bounce, while Golden Nugget was a few dimes ahead of it, also grossing $10 million on a 3% slippage. Resorts Atlantic City rounded out the grind joints with $11 million, a 5.5% dip.
The real wipeout occurred in sports betting, wherein revenues fell 9.5% overall and 74%(!) at the walk-up sports books, for a total of $66 million won. It obviously hurt that the Super Bowl was a dead game, characterized by lopsided wagering. Handle of $858 million also evinced bettor disinterest, as it was 14% down, with hold of an anemic 8.5%. FanDuel was way out front with $30 million, distantly trailed by DraftKings ($17 million). Also-rans were BetMGM ($5 million), Fanatics ($4.5 million) and Caesars Sportsbook ($2 million). Neither theScore Bet nor BetRivers even made it to our $1 million cutoff point. FanDuel also edged DraftKings in iGaming, $59 million to $56 million, whilst BetMGM had a good run with $52 million. Others divvying up the iGaming pie were Caesars Palace Online ($21.5 million), Fanatics ($12 million), BetRivers ($9 million) and Hollywood Casino ($3 million).
Speaking of iGaming, it was massive in Michigan, up 23% to $273 million. FanDuel ($69 million) elbowed BetMGM ($63 million) aside, to say nothing of DraftKings ($43.5 million). BetRivers managed $20.5 million and Caesars Palace Online did $17.5 million, the only operator to post a revenue-negative result for February, down 10%. Hollywood Casino rounded out the picture with $6.5 million. Sports betting had a 1% handle uptick, to $391 million, but the house lost big … -14% to $40 million. FanDuel did $17.5 million and it was mostly chicken feed for everyone else: DraftKings ($9.5 million), BetMGM ($5.5 million), theScore Bet ($1 million), Caesars Sportsbook ($1 million) and Fanatics ($3.5 million). BetRivers didn’t even come close to our Mendoza Line.
Operating results were volatile in the state of Louisiana, where casino winnings nudged up 1.5% overall. It was a hard-luck comparison for the New Orleans casinos, which had no Super Bowl to fall back on this year. Treasure Chest did better, though, zooming 16.5% to $14.5 million. Fair Grounds racino vaulted 24.5% to $4 million and Amelia Belle leapt 24% to $3 million. But Caesars New Orleans dropped 17.5% to $25 million and Boomtown New Orleans fell 15% to $8.5 million. The most explosive result was in Baton Rouge, where new Bally’s Baton Rouge rocketed 829% (not a typo) to $4.5 million, showing what a drag on the market ancient Belle of Baton Rouge (now gone) was. Sister property Queen Casino dipped 4.5% to $8 million and L’Auberge Baton Rouge held steady at $14 million.
Outlying Evangeline Downs had a good month, up 7% to $6 million, while the Lake Charles market was on cruise control. Golden Nugget (1%) slipped past L’Auberge du Lac (flat), $25 million to $24.5 million. Delta Downs surged 9% to $14 million and Horseshoe Lake Charles brought up the rear with $7 million (4%). Heavy promos must have been in play for Horseshoe Bossier City, which vaulted 25% to $10.5 million, a few dimes ahead of newbie Louisiana Live. But Margaritaville prevailed with $13.5 million, despite a 9% dive. Bally’s Shreveport ceded a point to $8 million and Boomtown Bossier dipped 6% to $3.5 million. That was still better than either Sam’s Town (-2%) or Louisiana Downs (4.5%), each with $3 million. Sports betting was a mixed bag. Winnings of $37 million plummeted 30% on handle of $305 million (a 20% plunge) … but books held over 12%, which had to make them happy.
There are a couple of cheering developments in law enforcement as it relates to gambling. For one, the Missouri attorney general is cracking down on black-market slots in the Show-Me State. After years of inaction by the state, an adverse federal court ruling (and the threat of FBI intervention) have belatedly lit a fire under law enforcement. Century Casinos, for one, hailed this new posture in its latest earnings call last week. Yesterday, AG Catherine Hanaway joined forces with Jackson County prosecutor Melesa Johnson to give retail outlets and others until July 1 to get the outlawed devices out of their properties. We’d have liked a shorter timeline but any action is welcome at this point. You can tell how serious the issue is by the fact that no one is squawking in protest … not even former bagman and apologist Denny Hoskins, who has failed his way up to the Secretary of State’s office.
Even better is Arizona’s indictment of Kalshi for offering illegal gambling in the state. It’s too soon to outfit Tarek Mansour for an orange jumpsuit but it’s hard to be sorry when bad things happen to bad people, and Mansour is terrible scofflaw. Unfortunately, the 20 charges are mere misdemeanors. Still, it’s bound to get Kalshi’s attention. The company has the aggravating habit of launching preemptive strikes on individual states, suing them if they even consider enforcing their laws and regulations. Well, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes‘ smackdown is about time. It was Kalshi’s practice of taking bets on elections that drew Mayes’ ire, not its flagrant sports betting … but it’s early yet. (In a parallel development, slimy Polymarket has been banned outright from Argentina, the best news we’ve had all week.)
For its part, Kalshi trotted out a spokeswoman to shriek that the charges were “paper-thin,” that only the feds can regulate prediction markets (which the Trump administration has failed dismally to do, being financially in bed with them) and that it’s not gambling yadda yadda yadda. Wake us when they start telling the truth. The event-contract industry’s concubine, Michael Selig, darkly threatened legal action against Arizona. Good luck with that and don’t think we don’t know who pulls your strings, pal.