Happy Thanksgiving, dear readers. We, of course, are primarily thankful for you. And Big Gaming is thankful too … not for us but for baccarat, which saved its bacon last month on the Las Vegas Strip. Visitation sank 4.5% but Strip casino revenue jumped 8%, driven in large part by a 69% catapult in baccarat winnings. (Things might have been worse still had convention attendance not spiked 8%, even though room rates still sagged 6%.) The house cleaned up at high-roller-friendly baccarat and at the tables in general (vaulting 25%) but not at the slots, which slipped 2% despite 3% higher coin-in. Table wagering was up 5% and baccarat players bet 9% bigger. Bottom line, fewer people may be coming to Sin City but the ones who do are betting more—and losing it, too.
Strip casinos grossed $749 million while Downtown ones were flat at $86.5 million. North Las Vegas hopped 8% to $24 million, a sub-market that has definitely rightsized after some major casino contraction. Boulder Strip casinos, however, fell 9% to $78.5 million, while the rest of Clark County was up 4% to $171 million. Laughlin slipped 5% to $42 million and Mesquite climbed 5.5% to $17 million. The most telltale of the border towns, Wendover, hopped 4% to $22.5 million. Reno was flat at $68.5 million, Sparks sparkled 16.5% to $17 million and Lake Tahoe dipped 2% to $20.5 million. Statewide, the haul was 5% higher.
Unlike other major Midwestern markets, casino revenues in Indiana in October were becalmed, down a point overall. Not even an extra weekend day helped. The entire northern tier suffered most, even Hard Rock Northern Indiana, down 7.5% to a still-awesome $36 million. Horseshoe Hammond slipped 5% to $19.5 million and Ameristar East Chicago slid 15.5% to $12 million. Only Blue Chip was relatively unruffled, down a point to $10 million. Racinos in the Indianapolis market are looking fretfully at Full House Resorts and any fallback plans it might have on the capital city, especially if Fort Wayne holds out. In the meantime, Horseshoe Indianapolis was up 6% to $25 million and Harrah’s Hoosier Park leapt 13% to $18.5 million. You can see their point of view regarding new competition.
A year in, Terre Haute Casino outdid itself, vaulting 15.5% to $11.5 million. Caesars Southern Indiana slipped 3% but remained a player favorite with $20 million. Belterra Resort was up 6.5% to $6.5 million and Bally’s Evansville dipped 5% to $13.5 million. French Lick Resort rose 4% to $6.5 million while Hollywood Lawrenceburg was flat at $12 million and little Rising Star jumped 6% to $3.5 million. Sports betting swung heavily in the books’ favor, grossing $44 million on $612 million of handle.
Halfway across the country, casinos in Massachusetts were up 3%. Encore Boston Harbor led the mini-pack with $57.5 million (flat). Seemingly on the comeback trail, MGM Springfield rose 9% to $24 million, while Plainridge Park hopped 6.5% to $15 million. In sports betting, operators held weakly (8%) on handle of $892 million, realizing revenue of $73.5 million. DraftKings easily did best with $39.5 million, trailed by FanDuel ($18 million) and much more distantly by BetMGM ($3.5 million), ESPN Bet ($2 million) and Caesars Sportsbook ($1.5 million).
And now, with your permission, we shall consume some Thanksgiving ham …