Today a newspaper headline declared “record” casino revenue in Detroit last month. We have to wonder in what sort of context this record was achieved. According to J.P. Morgan analyst Joseph Greff, Motown casinos are 14% down from 2019. Maybe the headline writer in question saw the 40% leap from November 2023, when strikes affected business, and flipped out. Anyway, the gross in question was $106.5 million, led by MGM Grand Detroit (of course) with a 61% vault to $49 million. Greff had MGM targeted for a 30% improvement this year … it’s on track for 45%. Wow.
Hollywood Greektown, by contrast, can’t catch a break. It’s doing only 17% better and is 18% off its 2019 pace, twice as far back as MGM. It grossed $24 million. Still, it’s doing better (+17%) than forecast (+10%). MotorCity split the difference with a 34% leap to $33 million. No forecast had been made for the privately held gambling house. Remember, the other two casinos settled with strikers well before MGM did, ergo the more dramatic improvement on its part.
New capacity continues to be the sole driver of growth in Illinois, where casino revenue surged ahead 17% but was flat on a same-store basis. Compared to 2019, it was 8% down. Can you say “dilution”? The tally was just $153 million, which makes Detroit‘s haul look even bigger by comparison. Newcomer Wind Creek, in southern Chicagoland, made an impressive debut: $10 million in three weeks. True, Harrah’s Joliet also grossed $10 million (+2%) but it had 10 more days in which to do so. Despite having downtown Chicago all to itself, hotly divided competition in the suburbs and a 28% surge in revenue, Bally’s Casino found itself looking up at Wind Creek from its $9.5 million perch. Similarly, The Temporary at American Place leapt 30.5% … but only to $9 million.
Flat but still predominant with $43 million was Rivers Des Plaines. Second place went to venerable Grand Victoria, down 6% but holding its own pretty well at $12 million. Close behind at $11.5 million was Hard Rock Rockford, where the novelty factor clearly hasn’t faded: It rocketed 105% from its temporary-casino days. Penn Entertainment‘s two antediluvian boats more than held their own: Hollywood Joliet was flat at $7 million and Hollywood Aurora catapulted 23.5% to $9 million. Downstate, Walker’s Bluff Casino put on the most impressive showing, leaping 32% to $3 million. Golden Nugget Danville made the same amount but faded 9% in the process. Among older casinos, Par-A-Dice wants a new home and is pitting East Peoria against Peoria proper. In the meantime, it was down 4% to $4.5 million. Bally’s Quad Cities hopped 2.5% to $5 million and Harrah’s Metropolis was flat at $5 million. In the St. Louis area, Argosy Belle gained 3% to $3 million, whilst DraftKings Casino Queen jumped 11.5% to $7 million.
Across the Mississippi River, the news from Missouri was nothing but good. Casino takings ($153.5 million) were 4% higher than last year, 6% greater than in 2019. Maybe they didn’t need that Lake of the Ozarks casino after all. With $23 million (+5%), Ameristar St. Charles put distance between itself and its immediate competition. Nearby Hollywood St. Louis dipped 1.5% to $19.5 million while sister property River City gained 3.5% to zoom past Hollywood to $21 million. That left perpetual also-ran Horseshoe St. Louis, down 5% to $11.5 million. Bally’s Corp. has had a healthy and long run in Kansas City, but it shows signs of fading, as did casino revenues in November: -11.5% or $10 million. Ameristar Kansas City jumped 11% to $16 million, followed by Argosy Riverside ($13.5 million, +8%) and Harrah’s North Kansas City ($13 million, +5%). Outstate, the Nov. 1 debut of a thoroughly revamped Century Caruthersville (above) had a dramatic effect on revenues, which shot 46.5% upwards (to $5 million). Century Cape Girardeau did none too shabbily, either, jumping 19% to $6 million. Caesars Entertainment‘s Isle of Capri Boonville hopped 8% to $7 million, while the removal of table games from Mark Twain Casino ain’t helping: It slumped 8.5% to $2.5 million. St. Jo Frontier was up 3% to $4 million.
Online sports betting was boffo last month in Maryland. It yielded $80.5 million in bookie winnings out of $621 million wagered. That’s 99% greater revenue on 16% more handle. FanDuel effectively controlled the market, with 46% of handle and 51% of win: $41 million. DraftKings was—need you ask?—second with win of $24 million. Behind those two came BetMGM ($6.5 million), Fanatics ($4 million), Caesars Sportsbook ($2 million), ESPN Bet ($2 million), and pennies for BetRivers and everyone else. It’s difficult to say what the better subplot is—Fanatics’ better-than-anticipated performance or ESPN Bet’s continued failure to gain traction, even after integration with ESPN‘s parent app. Take your pick.