Even as casino barons moan gloom and doom, and rend their garments, Atlantic City has another good month. August saw gambling halls up 5% from last year and 3% higher than in 2019. The overall gross was $294 million, boosted by slots (+5%) and table games (+4%) alike. Shocklingly (not), Borgata was out front with $74 million, up 1.5%. Its staying power is truly remarkable. Hard Rock Atlantic City climbed 9% to $55.5 million and Ocean Casino Resort leapt 11.5% to $44 million. So the top tier was really kicking ass.
As for the Caesars Entertainment threesome, it had a rare good month. Business was evenly balanced, with Harrah’s Resort scoring $25 million (+2.5%), Caesars Atlantic City grossing $24 million (a 9% leap) and Tropicana Atlantic City right there with $25 million (flat). Despite having the Boardwalk’s only revenue-negative month (-8.5%), Resorts Atlantic City led the grind joints with $16 million. Bally’s Atlantic City hopped 4% to $15.5 million and Golden Nugget vaulted 11.5% to $14.5 million. And the good news doesn’t stop there.
iGaming brought in $198.5 million, a 28% leap. DraftKings led with $50 million and other contenders were BetMGM ($44 million) and FanDuel ($42.5 million). Caesars Palace Online was in there swinging with $19 million. Online sports betting win plummeted 35% to $62.5 million, however, on marginally lower handle of $699 million. DraftKings got walloped, garnering only $15.5 million and ceding superiority to FanDuel ($24 million). Others of consequence were BetMGM ($5.5 million), Fanatics ($3.5 million) and Caesars Sportsbook ($3 million). Less consequential were ESPN Bet ($2.5 million) and BetRivers, which couldn’t even scare up a million.
Casinos and OSB also put in good showings in Massachusetts. Gambling halls were up 5.5% (21% over 2019), led by Encore Boston Harbor with $65 million, up 6%. MGM Springfield gained a point to $23.5 million, while Plainridge Park jumped 12% (and 22% from before Covid-19) with $14.5 million. Sports betting brought in $34 million, on a low hold percentage (7.5%) but with 46% more winnings than a year ago. Handle was a boffo $440 million. Caesars Sportsbook put in a poor showing but native son DraftKings led with $17 million. FanDuel made $11 million and the rest was crumbs: BetMGM ($2.5 million), ESPN Bet ($1.5 million) and Fanatics ($1.5 million).
A vigorous month of August was enjoyed by Indiana casinos, up 11% year/year and 13% from 2019. But that was all driven by Terre Haute Casino in—you guessed it—Terre Haute, as well as by Hard Rock Northern Indiana. On a same-store basis, gambling dens did 5% better than last year but 8% below 2019. Tiny Rising Star made a case for itself, up 5.5% to $4 million but too late—Full House Resorts is pushing as hard as possible to move to the Fort Wayne area and lawmakers are eager to concur. Churchill Downs drove $12 million from its Terre Haute powerhouse while Hard Rock in Gary continued to dominate with $38 million, an astonishing +19%, shrugging off Bally’s Casino in Chicago like the irrelevance that it is.
In the topmost tier of the Hoosier State, there was Hard Rock and there was Everybody Else. Horseshoe Hammond continues to sink, down 15.5% to $20.5 million. It hasn’t had a good month since Hard Rock debuted. Ameristar East Chicago hung in there with $15 million, off 1.5%, while Blue Chip hopped 6.5% to $12 million. The star of the southeren tier was Caesars Southern Indiana, a boffo $23 million, leaping 23%. Bally’s Evansville grossed $15 million (flat), Belterra Resort leapt leapt 13% to $8.5 million and French Lick Resort subsided 4% to $7 million. In the Indianapolis area, Horseshoe Indianapolis faded 6% to a still-impressive $23 million, while Harrah’s Hoosier Park cantered +16% to $19 million, a real contender.
Sports betting boomed, too, up 36% to $32 million, on handle of $308 million (+29%). DraftKings edged FanDuel, $10 million to $9.5 million. Penn Entertainment‘s retail offerings pushed ESPN Bet just over the $1 million Mendoza Line. BetRivers was not so fortunate. Other operators of interest were Caesars Sportsbook ($2 million), Bet365 ($1 million), BetMGM ($3 million) and Fanatics ($1 million).
July sports betting numbers for Illinois have just crossed the transom and the Land of Lincoln saw good action for OSB providers, who need it to offset higher taxes. Handle jumped 25% to $762 million, of which operators kept $71 million (+18%). Parlays or sucker bets, if you prefer, represented over a quarter of the handle and more than half the revenue. Were we not meant to be shorn by OSB, we guess God wouldn’t have made us sheep. FanDuel outpaced crybaby DraftKings $28.5 million to $24 million. Fanatics—can you believe it?—was third with $5 million. Maybe Michael Rubin‘s seemingly daffy business plan has some merit to it. Close behind with $5 million was BetRivers, trailed by ESPN Bet ($3.5 million), Caesars Sportsbook ($2.5 million) and BetMGM ($2.5 million).
Heading into the great state of Michigan, we find that iGaming continues to be a smash, up 29% to $197 million for August. Deeply entrenched BetMGM prevailed with $52.5 million, contested by FanDuel ($48.5 million) and DraftKings ($44 million). Further back were Caesars Palace Online ($15 million), BetRivers ($13 million) and Hollywood Casino ($4 million). Sports betting win was also boffo, up 18% to $27.5 million on $280 million in handle (+28%). Promotional layouts were a whopping $11 million, though. This time, BetMGM ($4.5 million) was decisively bested by FanDuel ($11 million) and DraftKings ($7.5 million). Fanatics and ESPN Bet both tallied $1 million while Caesars Sportsbook and BetRivers didn’t cross our Mendoza Line.