Bally’s Casino in Chicago is a dud. A flop. Maybe not an outright debacle (although being smack in the heart of downtown, it should have been doing better) but an inarguable disappointment, one that augurs poorly for $1.2 billion Bally’s Chicago—a Bally’s casino in name only. How do we know this? Because Hard Rock Rockford opened its permanent casino in August, enjoyed its first full month in September and zoomed straight past Bally’s and almost everyone else into second place in Illinois. That’s a staggering achievement and makes Bally’s failure to gain traction all the more stark.
Statewide, casinos in the Land of Lincoln grossed $139 million, a 5% improvement on last year but 2.5% off when adjusted for same-store results. The 2019 comparison was even more out of kilter: 24.5% higher outright—but 10% lower, same-store. Remember that Illinois has added five casinos since the Covid-19 pandemic and its disruption of business. No surprise, Rivers Des Plaines led the state with $41.5 million, flat with 2023 but weathering the new competition awfully well. Hard Rock was next with $13.5 million, a 139% (!) improvement.
Bally’s did dramatically better this September, marking its anniversary with a 54.5% leap to a still-anemic $10 million. At least it outdid the rest of the northern tier. Harrah’s Joliet ($9.5 million, -11.5%) and Grand Victoria ($9.5 million, -23%) both felt Hard Rock’s impact. The Temporary at American Place also grossed $9.5 million but that was a 20% leap over the year previous. Full House Resorts execs can rightly spin that as a win on their next earnings call. Penn Entertainment‘s two ancient riverboats survived the Rockford debut quite well, all things considered. Hollywood Joliet was flat at $7.5 million and Hollywood Aurora ceded 1.5% to $8 million. Imagine how well they’ll perform when their new iterations come on line.
Grosses in the rest of the state were comparatively puny. Argosy Belle slipped 6.5% to $3 million while DraftKings Casino Queen gained 4% to $6.5 million. Nobody else was revenue-positive. Par-A-Dice dipped 4.5% to $4.5 million. Bally’s Quad Cities slid 10% to $4.5 million while Harrah’s Metropolis plunged 14% to—you guessed it—$4.5 million. The novelty factor is already off Walker’s Bluff Casino ($2.5 million, -14.5%) and Golden Nugget Danville ($3 million, -10%). It was nice while it lasted.
Next door in Indiana, things were looking pretty good at first blush. The statewide gross ($189 million) may have been flat with 2023 but it was 9% above 2019. But back out Terre Haute Casino and especially Hard Rock Northern Indiana and those percentages flip to -6% and -13% respectively. Hard Rock lapped the field with $37.5 million, a 10% hop, while Horseshoe Hammond plummeted 22% to $19.5 million. Nearby Ameristar East Chicago slid 13.5% to $12.5 million, while Blue Chip tumbled 11.5% to $10 million.
Leaving aside the new casino in Terre Haute ($11 million), only Harrah’s Hoosier Park was revenue-positive (+5%) with $17 million. Horseshoe Indianapolis galloped to $22.5 million but was down 6.5%. Full House hasn’t made any friends with its itch to pull up stakes and relocate to the Fort Wayne area and it had a bad month, too, with Rising Star falling 17.5% to $3 million. Feeling the revenue pinch the least was Caesars Southern Indiana, down 2.5% to $18 million. Bally’s Evansville slipped 3.5% to $13.5 million (we’ve found a market Bally’s Corp. can’t fuck up) and Hollywood Lawrenceburg dipped 8% to $12 million. French Lick Resort got licked all right, plunging 19.5% to $6 million, to round out the state.
Sports betting was good for casinos, not so much for bettors, with handle up 20% ($480 million) but win climbing 29% to $53 million. DraftKings narrowly bested FanDuel, $39.5 million to $38 million. Others of consequence were BetMGM ($10.5 million) and Caesars Sportsbook ($7 million). Also in the picture was Bet365 ($5 million), while just in sight were ESPN Bet ($3 million), Fanatics ($4 million) and BetRivers ($1 million).
It was a mixed bag in Missouri, where Hurricane Helene put a literal damper on gambling win. The Show-Me State was 5.5% off the 2023 pace but 7% ahead of 2019. However, the only revenue-positive casino was little Century Cape Girardeau, up 13% to $6 million. Statewide champ Ameristar St. Charles was nonetheless down 4% to $23.5 million. Archrival Hollywood St. Louis did $20 million, slipping a percentage point, while River City dipped 5% but hit $20.5 million. Horseshoe St. Louis continued to fade, with $10.5 million (-22.5%). Ameristar Kansas City led that market with $16.5 million (-2%) whilst Harrah’s North Kansas City and Argosy Riverside tied with $12.5 million, -9.5% and -2% respectively. Bally’s Kansas City trailed with $11 million (-5.5%). Outstate, Century Caruthersville slipped 5% to $4 million while slots-only Mark Twain Casino dropped 14% to $2.5 million.
You can’t go home again if you’re Detroit and my “home” you mean 2019. Motown casinos were 10% down from that halcyon year, if 1% up over last year. MGM Grand Detroit led the hit parade with $47.5 million, a 6.5% upgrade. Hollywood Greektown, which was doing so well, tumbled 8% to $22.5 million (17% behind 2019) while MotorCity was flat with $31 million. Nobody was helped by having two fewer weekend days this September, although MGM obviously wasn’t sweating it.
Internet gambling, by contrast, was boffo. iGaming revenues leapt 29% and OSB was up 18%. Promos took a big bite of the latter, sucking 40% out of revenue. Handle was $280 million and win was $27.5 million. FanDuel outstripped the competition with $11 million, trailed by DraftKings‘ $7.5 million. Then came BetMGM ($4.5 million), Fanatics ($1 million) and ESPN Bet ($1 million). Caesars Sportsbook and BetRivers faded from view. iGaming brought in $280 million, dominated led by BetMGM with $48 million. FanDuel and DraftKings ($45.5 million and $41 million respectively) gave MGM Resorts International a good run for its money. Others in the derby were Horseshoe Casino ($15 million) and BetRivers ($13 million). Less in the picture was Hollywood Casino ($4 million).
It was a veritable bonanza month during August in Ohio, where casino receipts were not only up 5% from last year but a staggering 24% from 2019. Slots-only MGM Northfield Park continued to own the competition, posting $27.5 million (+5%). Second-best was Hollywood Columbus ($23.5 million, +6%), closely followed by Jack Cleveland ($23 million, +2%). Neither Hard Rock Cincinnati ($20 million, +3%) nor Hollywood Toledo ($19 million, +5%) fared as well as the best of the racinos, lagging Miami Valley Gaming ($20.5 million, +8.5%) and—in the case of Toledo—Scioto Downs ($19.5 million, +5%). The only revenue-negative racino or casino in the state was Hollywood Dayton, slipping 3% to $13 million. Jack Thistledown cantered 2% to $15.5 million, Hollywood Mahoning Valley galloped 11% to $14.5 million and even Belterra Park gained 9.5% to $7.5 million.
OSB brought in $46.5 million on handle of $535 million (+47%). As you can see, Dame Fortune was with the players. FanDuel ($17 million) and DraftKings ($16.5 million) prevailed, distantly challenged by Bet365 ($4 million). Participation trophies went to BetMGM ($2 million), ESPN Bet ($2 million), Fanatics ($1.5 million) and Caesars Sportsbook ($1.5 million).
If Lady Luck favored players in Ohio, she liked the house better in Maryland, where revenue shot up 48%, to $63.5 million. Handle rose 23% to $519 million. FanDuel ($33 million) decisively bested the field, with DraftKings trailing at $20 million. BetMGM ($4.5 million) was a distant third, with Caesars Sportsbook ($1.5 million), ESPN Bet ($1.5 million) and Fanatics ($2 million) all barely in the picture, and BetRivers out of it.
Brick and mortar casinos in the Free State did more than respectably with $159.5 million. That’s 3% better than last year and 12% higher than 2019. The bottom fell out of Horseshoe Baltimore, dropping 9% to $13 million, its leanest gross of the year. By contrast, Maryland Live gained 2% to $59.5 million. Of course, no one was besting MGM National Harbor‘s $67 million, a 8% surge. Ocean Downs was flat at $9 million, as was Hollywood Perryville at $6.5 million. Century Casinos continued to struggle with Rocky Gap Resort, down 8% to $4.5 million.
That’s all folks. Whew!