Having been spared being the next home of the miserable Oakland Athletics, now The Rio faces the question of whether there’s life after Caesars Entertainment. To that end, owner Dreamscape Cos. is going to try to go it alone as a casino operator. We wish them luck because they’re going to need it. Operating a casino in Las Vegas is not for the faint of experience. It puts a bucketful of problems in the lap of President Eric Birnbaum. Dreamscape says its aim is “to preserve the property’s bones and honor its legacy.” So far so good. Making a go of an off-Strip resort won’t be easy, as the newish owners of Palms Casino Resort and the many chefs over at Virgin Las Vegas could tell you. (Hell, Mohegan Sun is quite candid in admitting that Virgin is struggling as a casino.)

It had to happen sometime. But it’s strange that Las Vegas Strip gambling revenues would lose momentum in a month (May) in which visitation to Sin City rose 1.5% from last year. 3.5 million people hit town, sending hotel occupancies to 84.5%, diluted somewhat by a 2% increase in hotel rooms since 2019. May was also good for conventions, which shot up 16%, bringing Las Vegas 453,900 conventioneers. 8% more people arrived or departed via plane while 2.5% more visited by car. And yet there was less gambling lucre for The Man when it was all said and done. Curious.

Our vacation has taken us to the wilds of Michigan, so today’s report will start there. Detroit‘s three casinos raked in $105 million last month, a 1.5% decline from May of last year. But it was a terrific month for Hollywood Detroit, which captured business from its competitors, up 7.5% to $23 million. MGM Grand Detroit ceded 1.5% but made $49 million, while MotorCity‘s $32 million represented a 7% shortfall. While Penn Entertainment‘s Greektown gain was not as spectacular as those of January and February (16% and 12% respectively) the comparisons have been strongly positive all year, signaling that Penn has turned the place around.