{"id":30177,"date":"2021-10-13T08:00:03","date_gmt":"2021-10-13T16:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/?p=30177"},"modified":"2023-09-26T13:25:56","modified_gmt":"2023-09-26T21:25:56","slug":"indiana-wins-big-missouri-too-pennsylvania-guv-blows-smoke","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/blog\/indiana-wins-big-missouri-too-pennsylvania-guv-blows-smoke\/","title":{"rendered":"Indiana wins big, Missouri too; Pennsylvania guv blows smoke"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

While the American economy overall may be a disappointment for some, Big Gaming has nothing of which to complain. Indiana<\/strong> is coming off another bully month, up 16% from 2019, for an overall gross of $201 million, driven in no small part by new Hard Rock Gary<\/strong>. It pulled in $29.5 million. Not to be outdone, Horseshoe Hammond<\/strong> won $33 million, albeit 4% off its 2019 pace. Ameristar East Chicago<\/strong> gained<\/em> 24% but remained a solid third with $21 million. Blue Chip<\/strong> slipped 7.5% to $12 million. Elsewhere the numbers were good for almost everyone, although “everyone” wouldn’t include French Lick Resort<\/strong>, going down 15% to $6.5 million. Rising Star<\/strong> also set, -10% to $4 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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All other casinos and racinos were revenue-positive, such as Indiana Grand<\/strong>, up 13% to $23.5 million, while Hoosier Downs<\/strong> cantered +17% to $18.5 million. Caesars Southern Indiana<\/strong>, now under Cherokee management, didn’t miss a step either, up 16% to $19.5 million. Tropicana Evansville <\/strong>was remotely in this league, with $13 million, an 11.5% gain, and although Hollywood Lawrenceburg<\/strong> only budged +1.5% that was good enough for $13.5 million. Belterra Resort<\/strong> nudged +3.5% to $8 million, rounding out the southern tier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Sports betting handle was $355.5 million, with high hold meaning that operators kept $34 million. FanDuel<\/strong> was the winner with $11 million, followed by DraftKings<\/strong> with $7 million and BetMGM<\/strong>‘s $4.5 million. Also-rans were Caesars Sportsbook<\/strong> ($4 million) and Barstool Sports<\/strong> ($3 million). Despite garnering 37% handle, luck was not with DraftKings, compared to the bang FanDuel got for its 22% share. Other operators making noise were Caesars (14%), BetMGM (also outperforming, with 11%) and Barstool (5%). \u201cFootball remains king, even when the Colts<\/strong> get off to a slow start as they did in September,\u201d said PlayUSA<\/strong> analyst Nicole Russo<\/strong>. \u201cA busy schedule of Indiana<\/strong>, Notre Dame<\/strong>, and Purdue<\/strong> football certainly helped boost interest, too.” And don’t forget the renascent Cincinnati Bengals<\/strong>, popular with downstate punters, such as those who flocked to the wickets at Hollywood Lawrenceburg, the state’s most favored walk-up book with handle of $11.5 million, more than Ameristar ($5 million) and Horseshoe ($4 million) combined.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although Missouri<\/strong> revenue gains weren’t as dramatic (+9%) as Indiana’s, they impressed nonetheless. The gross was $152 million, driven by an 11% growth in slot win, while tables lagged -5%. (They’re small potatoes: $20 million.) Like Indiana, win\/day was up 3% from August, “indicating a healthy consumer backdrop and limited impact from the delta variant,” wrote JP Morgan<\/strong> analyst Joseph Greff<\/strong>. Outpacing the market, Ameristar St. Charles<\/strong> gained 10% to $24 million while malign neglect may be catching up with Lumiere Place<\/strong>, down 1.5% to $12 million. Penn National Gaming<\/strong> shook off its recent run of bad luck in St. Louis<\/strong>, winning $19.5 million at Hollywood St. Louis<\/strong> (+2.5%) and the same at River City<\/strong> (+5.5%). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In Kansas City<\/strong>, it was a tie between Harrah’s North Kansas City<\/strong> (-1%) and Ameristar Kansas City<\/strong> (above<\/em>, -6.5%), both winning $14.5 million. Players flocked to Bally’s Kansas City<\/strong>, catapulting 98% to $10 million, while Argosy Riverside<\/strong> rounded out the market with $14 million (+8.5%). Out in the sticks, Isle of Capri Boonville<\/strong> led with $7.5 million (+19%), while Century Casinos<\/strong> won $6 million in Cape Girardeau<\/strong> (+18%) and $4 million in Caruthersville<\/strong> (+31%). Players obviously aren’t holding that no-buffets policy against Century. Mark Twain Casino<\/strong> grossed $3 million (+16.5%) and St. Jo Frontier<\/strong> one-upped it with $3.5 million (+8%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Americans for Nonsmokers Rights<\/strong> is trying to make a big deal out of a very milquetoast remark by Pennsylvania<\/strong> Gov. Tom Wolf<\/strong> (D). What did the guv say that was so earth-shaking? “The Administration would welcome a discussion about updating the Clean Indoor Air Act.” Who there, Tom! Don’t rush out on a limb like that. Mind you, Wolf isn’t proposing to do<\/em> anything nor lean any way. He’s just open to “discussion.” Yes, for God’s sake let’s temporize while casino workers (and patrons) continue to choke on secondhand smoke. No profile in courage for you, Tom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Executives at Global Gaming Expo<\/strong> were clearly drinking the cryptocurrency Kool-Aid. Somebody should e-mail blast them this cautionary National Review<\/em> piece that points out<\/a> that A)<\/strong> digital currency has been here a long time and B)<\/strong> its traditional form is a lot safer than what’s being touted now as the greatest thing since sliced bread.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite print reports to the contrary (repeated here, alas), James Bond<\/strong> does not play any baccarat\u2014in Monte Carlo<\/strong> or elsewhere in\u2014in No Time to Die<\/em>. 007 may have no time to expire but the 163-minute movie certainly does. Without delving into spoilers, let’s just say it’s both too much and not enough. Les jeux son fai<\/em>t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Quote of the Day<\/strong>: \u201cThe opportunity to build a new casino, a new brick and mortar casino, at any scale, the economics are upside down. This has been the capital of the gaming universe for decades, and we are losing. We’re not going to see a new brick and mortar casino here for a long, long time.\u201d\u2014MGM Resorts International<\/strong> CEO Bill Hornbuckle<\/strong>, breaking with his colleagues<\/a> by advocating Internet gambling in Nevada<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While the American economy overall may be a disappointment for some, Big Gaming has nothing of which to complain. Indiana is coming off another bully month, up 16% from 2019, for an overall gross of $201 million, driven in no small part by new Hard Rock Gary. It pulled in $29.5 million. Not to be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83928,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1728],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30177"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/83928"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30177"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30177\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30177"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30177"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/shop\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30177"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}