Said JP Morgan analyst Joseph Greff “not to worry, money losing buffets are not coming back” to Station Casinos. We can take this as gospel, since he got it from CEO Frank Fertitta III, Vice Chairman Lorenzo Fertitta and CFO Stephen Cootey. He added, “Lower promotional activity is here to stay, per management, and is going back to the basics.” So it’s kind of a bum deal for locals. During the Covid-19 closedown, management tinkered with marketing strategies and will eliminate those thought to have little or no traction with customers. “It feels this pivot away from promos is permanent and is focusing more on social/digital marketing and more player development touches for higher end /spend customers and far less on print, ads, billboards, and free play.”

The other headline item was concrete news on Durango Station. Responding to what Greff described as “investor skepticism” about the project (well-earned, we might add), management busted out details of the $400 million-$500 million casino, which should break ground in early 2022 and be finished by late 2023. The project will be funded entirely from cash flow—i.e., no new debt—including the proceeds of the Palms sale. Reasons to like Durango Station’s prospects include a high Asian-American demographic in the area and the absence of significant competition within a five-mile radius. Furthermore, Greff said that the player base within a three-mile radius will be higher than that for billion-dollar-plus Red Rock Resort, giving him confidence of a 15%-20% return on investment. Way more bang for the buck! Station owns 73 acres at the site but intends to sell 23 of them off to a residential developer. (One of the mistakes that dogged Aliante Station was building it where the population wasn’t.)

Gambling revenue of $108 million out of Illinois last month looks pallid at first glance. But consider this: It was only 6% off April 2019’s pace, when casinos were at full capacity and last month they did it at 50% capacity. So the demand is the definitely manifesting. One of the stars of the market was Grand Victoria (pictured), up 1% to $13.5 million. Of course the marquee performer was Rivers Casino Des Plaines, grossing $41 million for a 7.5% lift. Nearby rivals Empress Joliet and Harrah’s Joliet were down 16% and 17% respectively, grossing $7.5 million and $12.5 million. Hollywood Aurora slipped 9.5% to $8.5 million. Mid-state, the tailspin continues for Casino Rock Island, spiraling -37.5% to a meager $3.5 million. Par-A-Dice, meanwhile, dipped 6% to $6 million. In the St. Louis area, Argosy Belle slipped 20% to $3 million while DraftKings Casino Queen was down 23% to $6.5 million. Harrah’s Metropolis was steady as she goes at $6 million.

Sports betting continues to lag casino reporting by a full month, so we are only now getting the March numbers. Handle was $633.5 million, from which $50 million in revenue was derived, including a tax haul of $6.5 million. Noteworthily, Illinois was just a few whiskers behind Nevada ($641 million handle). Silver State, look to thy laurels! The prohibition of bets on University of Illinois and Loyola College may have put a damper on March Madness action ($177 million), with professional basketball engendering $366 million in wagers. “March Madness helped deliver a huge month for Illinois, but March is essentially a ‘last hurrah’ for the state’s rapid growth,” warned PlayUSA analyst Joe Boozell. “Illinois will still be one of the largest U.S. markets because of the population of the state, but it will be difficult to maintain its current status as the U.S. No. 3, much less catch Nevada. No matter how appealing a market, there isn’t any easy way to overcome the inconvenience of in-person registration.”

Maryland didn’t just do well in April, it posted its third-best month ever. Gaming win grew 11.5% from 2019, to $162 million. That’s with 50% capacity constraints at MGM National Harbor and Horseshoe Baltimore (all other casinos are operating at 100%). MGM still took 38.5% of market share with a $62.5 million gross, up 2.5%. Maryland Live was second with 36% market share, hauling in 22% more than in 2019 and grossing $58 million. Horseshoe was flat with 2019, cantering in a distant third (12% market share) with $20 million. Speaking of cantering, Ocean Downs crossed the finish line with $8 million, a 30% boost. Hollywood Perryville leapt 36.5% to $8.5 million and Rocky Gap Casino gained 19% to $6 million. Even West Virginia is looking a little better. Over a three-week period ending April 24, it was down only 14%, with slots (-14%) propping up tables (-18%). Hollywood Charles Town underperformed the state, as slots declined -21%, tables were off 24%, averaging a 22% decline overall.

While on the subject of Penn National Gaming, it reported 1Q21 results yesterday. JP Morgan analyst Joseph Greff described it has having a “very strong regional casino top line,” similar to its peers. Although the quarter saw partial casino closures in New Mexico, Illinois and Pennsylvania, revenues were down only 6% from 2019, while cash flow grew 7% (no doubt due to operational economies). Furthermore, the company “indicated that strength has continued into April and May, with strong spend per visit continuing but now experiencing improved visitation relative to earlier in the pandemic, with a return of the important 55 year-old plus demographic.” Whereas Wall Street consensus had Penn achieving $1.1 billion in revenue and $394 million in cash flow, the company delivered $1.3 billion and $447 million respectively. Revenues from Penn Interactive helped shore up the year/year comparison, while numbers were boosted especially in the South, where dining and casino capacity restrictions have been lifted the most. As for revenue comparisons with last year, they were—as might be expected—all positive, except the West region (Las Vegas and New Mexico), down 24%.