Stimulus cash may be petering out somewhat and international tourism has yet to open the floodgates, so September found Nevada on something of a cusp between the supercharged recovery of the summer and the hoped-for travel rebound in 4Q21. Still, Las Vegas Strip revenues were up 10% to $640.5 million and locals-driven receipts were 13% above 2019 levels. Statewide, gambling win tallied 9% higher than two years ago, hitting the wonted $1.1 billion level. As Deutsche Bank analyst Carlo Santarelli puts it, “the accounting calendar was clean in September of 2021,” meaning there was no held-over slot revenue from August. With numbers like these it’s little wonder that gaming executives are waxing optimistic for the long haul. Strip slot players lost $355 million, 16% more on 16% higher coin-in and flat hold. Baccarat wagering was down only 5% but luck wasn’t with the house, as win fell 24% despite higher-than-normal hold. Non-baccarat table games fared much better, up 20% on 12% more wagering. If it weren’t for baccarat, Strip revenues would have been 18% above 2019’s apogee.

As we’ve written elsewhere, this was supposed to be The Year of Sports Betting … before the Covid-19 Delta variant reared its ugly head (and that was before Coronavirus knocked us out of Global Gaming Expo). But sports betting could still grab the prize, even if sometimes for the wrong reasons.

Maybe this isn’t the wrong reason but today’s top story is that, faced with potential litigation from MGM Resorts International, among other issues, DraftKings has spiked its $22 billion takeover offer for Entain, half owner of BetMGM. “We are not surprised by this outcome, because we viewed this deal as just too complicated to close from the start given … the sizable amount of equity that would have been used by DKNG in a ~$22B deal with 78% of this in newly issued equity,” writes JP Morgan analyst Joseph Greff, predicting that DraftKings stock would react positively to this sudden onset of sanity from CEO Jason Robins. The proposed buyout had been a drag on share prices.

September gaming revenues in Louisiana were expected to be diminished by Hurricane Ida and they certainly were, down 23% on a same-store basis. New Orleans had the worst time of it (-48%), Baton Rouge the easiest (-5%). All comparisons are to 2019 numbers. In the Crescent City, Harrah’s New Orleans had a terrible month, grossing only $8 million (-66%) and almost as low as second-place Boomtown New Orleans (just under $8 million, -22%). Fair Grounds racino barely registered with $2 million (-47%), falling behind Amelia Belle ($3 million, -25.5%), while Boyd Gaming‘s other area property, Treasure Chest, grossed $6 million, down 39%. Lake Charles casinos didn’t suffer so spectacularly but they weren’t turning cartwheels either. L’Auberge du Lac took top honors for the month, off only—and amazingly—5% with a gross of $26.5 million, comfortably ahead of Golden Nugget‘s $22.5 million (-23.5%). Dover Downs brought in $12 million, a 21% decline.

After grappling with the effects of gaming saturation for several months, Pennsylvania flexed its muscles in September, up 9% from 2019. The gross was $283 million. On a same-store basis (i.e., discounting the effects of new casinos), the Keystone State was 4% off the 2019 pace. Slot revenues of $199 million were 6% down but table game revenues grew 3%. Most casinos were revenue-negative for the month, some severely so. Pacesetter was Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs, up 8% to $19 million. Parx Casino never seems to have a bad month, climbing 4% to a state-leading $51.5 million. Wind Creek Bethlehem grew 3% to $42 million. Aside from Parx, the Philadelphia market was a dog-eat-dog affair. Rivers Philadelphia (above) continues to lose market share (-19%) to Philadelphia Live but clings narrowly to second place, $19 million to $18 million. (Fears that Live would be a category killer appear overblown.) Harrah’s Philadelphia plunged 25.5% to $15 million while Valley Forge Resort Casino was down but 2% to $11 million.

Across the state, Rivers Pittsburgh was flat at $31 million and Hollywood Casino at The Meadows slipped 2.5% to $17 million, while novel Live Pittsburgh grossed $9 million, obviously generating some new business. Presque Isle Downs dipped 4% to $10 million, Mount Airy was flat at $15.5 million and Hollywood Penn National stumbled 15.5% to $16 million. Hollywood Casino York debuted with $7 million and Lady Luck Nemacolin was down 25% to $2 million.