Casinos in the Midwest are showing some resilience. In Illinois, they were up 1.5% in August, That’s impressive but the real headline is that they did 8% less on a same-store basis, showing that all the new gambling capacity has not yet been absorbed. Pictured above is the new design for Bally’s Chicago. It’s that thing in the lower middle that looks like a computer printer. Its progenitor, Bally’s Casino in downtown Chicago, did $10.5 million last month, not overwhelming but good enough for fourth place in the state. Or is that good?
Tops in the state by far, with $43.5 million (-3%) was Rivers Des Plaines, just as you’d expect. Its closest rivals—not very close—were Grand Victoria ($12 million, flat) and Harrah’s Joliet ($11 million, +4%). Dramatic Chicagoland gainers were The Temporary at American Place ($9 million, +19%) and Hollywood Aurora ($9 million, +17%). Hollywood Joliet was up 8.5% to $7.5 million and (in its last month as a temporary casino), Hard Rock Rockford eked out an extra 1.5% to finish with $5.5 million. Elsewhere, DraftKings Casino Queen made an impressive 11.5% charge to $7 million and Walker’s Bluff Casino exploded 267% to $3 million. Argosy Belle made $3 million (-2%), Par-A-Dice was flat at $5 million and Bally’s Quad Cities hopped 4% to $5.5 million. Harrah’s Metropolis suffered an 11.5% reversal to $4.5 million and that was the worst of it.
Over in Motown, casinos also lagged pre-pandemic numbers by 8%. But they were 6% better than the year before. MGM Grand Detroit jumped 9% to $54 million, while Hollywood Greektown had another good month, up 7.5% to $26 million. Motor City, however, was flat at $31 million.
The most resilient jurisdiction of the bunch was Missouri, 8% stronger than in 2019 and up 4.5% from last year at this time. Hollywood St. Louis lit its afterburners with a 15% surge to $23 million but still couldn’t catch Ameristar St. Charles, up 9% to a state-best $25.5 million. It was followed by River City‘s $21.5 million (+5%) but Horseshoe St. Louis missed the party, falling 11% to a mingy $11.5 million. Over in Kansas City, Argosy Riverside was flat at $14 million, while Harrah’s North Kansas City subsided 2% to $14 million. Gainers were Bally’s Kansas City (up 9% to $12 million) and Ameristar Kansas City, leading with $17.5 million (+8.5%). Isle of Capri Boonville faded 3.5% to $7 million as Century Casino Cape Girardeau was up 2% to $6 million, and Century Casino Caruthersville gained 4.5% to $4 million.
In the Free State, otherwise known as Maryland, casinos vaulted 13% from 2019 and 8% from last year. Mammoth MGM National Harbor prevailed with $75 million (+9.5%) but Maryland Live jumped pretty impressively, up 12.5% to $62 million. Two casinos continued to struggle and you can guess which they were. Century Casinos‘ hexed Rocky Gap Resort dipped 6.5% to $5 million and Horseshoe Baltimore plummeted 21% to $14.5 million, which is close to embarrassing for that property. Ocean Downs ceded 2% but made $10 million whilst Hollywood Perryville leapt 8.5% to $7.5 million.
In online sports betting, Maryland operators saw handle jump 49% and revenue 58%. Handle was $368 million and win a tidy $38 million. FanDuel lost a bit of market share but still came out on top with $18 million. DraftKings made inroads but finished at $12.5 million. Way back were BetMGM ($3.5 million) and Caesars Sportsbook at $1 million. ESPN Bet didn’t even make that much. Fanatics made it to the cutoff point ($1 million). BetRivers didn’t even come close.
Considering they have the only casino in downtown Chicago Bally’s should be doing better than fourth place with revenue of $10.5 million dollars. I thought they would be in second place by now but maybe high table minimums are keeping people away.
The green computer printer design is interesting. From looking at the picture I think kids would like to ride their skateboards on the computer printer. Or possibly one of Evel Knievel’s relatives could ride a motorcycle on it and jump the Chicago River.