Casino revenues were $270.5 million last month in Pennsylvania, down 22% from March 2019, another exception to the wave of recovery sweeping the country. Slots accounted for $199 million, tables for $71.5 million. Casinos were held to 50% of capacity, moving to 75% this month. King of the terrestrial casinos was Parx, far and away the leader with $53 million, only 6% down. Philadelphia Live may have done ‘only’ $20 million but solidified its hold on second place in the greater Philly market. Rivers Philadelphia was just under $20 million but down 28%, Harrah’s Philadelphia grossed $16.5 million, a 34% tumble and Valley Forge Casino Resort notched $10.5 million, a 19% slippage. In other major markets, Wind Creek Bethlehem won $34 million, a 33% falloff, Rivers Pittsburgh did $27.5 million, down 23% and Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs dipped 14% to $18.5 million. Mount Airy defended its market share best, off 4.5% to $15.5 million.
Elsewhere, Presque Isle Downs fell 21.5% to $10 million, The Meadows racino tumbled 37% to $15 million, Hollywood Penn National slipped 17% to $20 million, and Live Pittsburgh grossed $8 million (no comparison available). Oh, and little Lady Luck Nemacolin slid 26.5% to $2 million.
Sports books had a better month than in February, generating revenue of $29.5 million, whilst narrowing promotional expenses to $12 million (down from February’s $17 million), “implying gross revenues of $41.0m,” writes JP Morgan analyst Joseph Greff. Handle was $560 million (326.5% over last year’s), 92% of which was bet online. FanDuel remained dominant with $10 million revenue and 34% market share, distantly followed by DraftKings‘ $6 million ($116.5 million handle) and 21% ($203 million online handle). BetRivers had $3.5 million and 12% while Barstool Sports lagged with $3 million and 11%, as well as $67 million in handle. “The Penn National-Barstool partnership has been successful, but its gains on the market leaders has [sic] stalled,” said PlayUSA analyst Dustin Gouker. “FanDuel and DraftKings have built so much brand recognition and marketing might that they still hold advantages [even] over a brand as well-known as Barstool partnering with a Pennsylvania-based company.”
More dimly in the picture were BetMGM/Hollywood Morgantown ($37.5 million handle/$2 million revenue), BetRivers Pittsburgh ($25 million/$1 million and newly expanded to PPG Paints Arena) and Parx Casino ($19 million/$1 million). FoxBet/Mount Airy and PlaySugarHouse/Rivers Philadelphia had $17.5 million and $17 million in handle respectively but couldn’t crack the $1 million mark in revenue. Twin Spires/Presque Isle lost money, as did Betfred/Wind Creek. Rivers Philadelphia (above) led walk-up action with $7 million in handle, with Parx just an increment behind. Contends PlayUSA’s Zack Hall, “Pennsylvania could feasibly pass Nevada for No. 2 in the U.S., or Pennsylvania could be passed by Illinois, which continues to gain ground.”
I-gaming had its best month ever, climbing even as casinos ramped back up. $98 million in casino win represented a 26% climb. When casino gambling expands in April we’ll see whether Internet vs. brick and mortar is a zero-sum game or not. The big winner was the Hollywood Casino brand, an umbrella under which DraftKings, Barstool Sports and BetMGM all gather. It agglomerated 34% of market share, followed by BetRivers’ 28% and FanDuel’s fading 17%. FoxBet garnered 7% and Mount Airy had 2.5%.
Massachusetts also hasn’t gotten the memo that there’s a gambling revival underway. It was 17.5% below March 2019. (Comparisons with last year are meaningless, as casinos closed on March 15, 2020.) Top-grosser Encore Boston Harbor, with its $50 million, led the pack, generating $29 million at the slots and $20.5 million from table games. MGM Springfield Harbor was down 14% from 2019, its $22 million drawn overwhelmingly ($18 million) from slot play. The roughest time was had by Plainridge Park, grossing 12% and sliding 24% (all slot-derived). Maybe this month, with higher capacity and an extra weekend day, will yield better news.
Caesars Entertainment isn’t the first name that comes to mind when one thinks of the convention business but its The Forum meeting center is the shiniest new object in Las Vegas and CEO Tom Reeg thinks conventions are coming back around. He says that bookings for 3Q/4Q21 and next year are “extremely strong … We’ve just got to make sure we can accommodate them.” (Shouldn’t be a problem.) Alluding to June’s World of Concrete expo, Reeg told Contessa Brewer, “We’re presuming more attrition than normal for any group that is booked coming up. We just don’t know how quickly people are going to come back.” Indeed, Reeg sounded anything but sanguine, saying, “The case rates here were pretty scary, to be candid. As the cases pulled back, we’ve seen the restrictions ease and we’ve seen business come back … You’re certainly … going to be wearing masks for the foreseeable future.” While Reeg 1.0 seemed at times insanely optimistic, we like this more-realistic Reeg 2.0. He acknowledged the proverbial “pent-up demand,” which he characterized as “extraordinary,” but said it was mainly manifesting itself at regional properties, such as those in Arizona, Iowa and Indiana. Seems like only a matter of time before it comes to Vegas.
There’s movement in the New Jersey Lege to make Atlantic City‘s temporary smoking-in-casinos ban permanent. As expected, casinos are pushing back with the not-unfounded argument that it will lead to lower revenues and, hence, smaller tax revenues, a point sure not to be lost in Trenton. “We’ve seen it’s possible for casinos to operate with smoking bans because they had no choice,” argued Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle. “For over a year, we’ve been battling with a respiratory virus, one that disproportionately impacts smokers.” Gambling houses were exempted in 2006 from a statewide smoking ban. An attempt at a voluntary prohibition of smoking in 2008 was a revenue disaster. “Going completely nonsmoking would place Atlantic City casinos at a competitive disadvantage with other nearby casinos that allow smoking,” contended the Casino Association of New Jersey, an oblique reference to the temporary-only fatwa on smoking in Pennsylvania. Added the trade group, “With the onset of the pandemic, independent experts reviewed our air filtration systems, confirming their effectiveness in exchanging large volumes of air and keeping the air quality fresh and clean.” Mind you, the 2008 experiment was hardest on the least-competitive casinos (Resorts Atlantic City and the then-Atlantic City Hilton), so the newer contenders should be well-positioned to ride another one out.
Jottings: “[A]n interesting learning process that I don’t want to go through again.” That’s how Henderson restaurant owner Todd Clore describes the Covid-19 pandemic, in the pithiest understatement of the year … Aristocrat Technologies‘ loss is Scientific Games‘ gain. It has recruited big-data expert Victor Blanco to be its chief technology officer. Doubtless due to a non-compete, Blanco will have to cool his heels until next year … Elite Casino Resorts has received the go-ahead to develop a $100 million casino and boutique hotel at Fonner Park in Nebraska. The opening is as yet undetermined but we seriously doubt Gov. Clay Ricketts (R, above) will attend. Ricketts suffered a ‘bad beat’ last year, investing megabucks in an anti-racino drive that was soundly rejected at the ballot box … Jack Cleveland experienced its best month in seven years in March, no doubt helped by the lifting of Ohio curfews and return of poker rooms. The ‘mistake by the lake’ may finally be living up to its potential (its best month ever was its first). “I think there’s also a little bit of people getting vaccinated and feeling comfortable in getting out to do things they hadn’t been doing,” said Jessica Franks, spokeswoman for the Ohio Casino Control Commission. MGM Northfield Park and Jack Thistledown set records … Wynncore is getting serious about Coronavirus safety—well, more serious than ever. Employees must either get vaccinated or be tested weekly for Covid-19 to keep on the job. Explained CEO Matt Maddox, “Vaccination rates are increasing throughout the country, and requiring our employees to either be vaccinated or tested on a weekly basis will make Wynn one of the safest vacation destinations in the U.S.” From your mouth to God’s ear, sir … An Amadeus/Censuswide survey finds popular support for health passports. 91% of those surveyed were approving, with some privacy-related caveats … Is a second condo boom on the way? Not exactly, but more and more luxury-hotel projects are including a timeshare component. “One hand feeds the other,” said developer Ryan Shear. “Having a Waldorf hotel helps sell the condos, and having the condos helps finance the hotel. You kind of need both.”