{"id":30578,"date":"2022-01-10T10:24:30","date_gmt":"2022-01-10T18:24:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/?p=30578"},"modified":"2023-09-14T14:03:32","modified_gmt":"2023-09-14T22:03:32","slug":"ohio-missouri-booming-of-sports-and-sports-betting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/blog\/ohio-missouri-booming-of-sports-and-sports-betting\/","title":{"rendered":"Ohio, Missouri booming; Of sports and sports betting"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Scarcely had Deutsche Bank<\/strong> analyst Carlo Santarelli<\/strong> projected 12% gaming growth in Ohio<\/strong> over December 2019 than the numbers came in and it was 16%. The $197 million gross showed play heating up from November, too. Slot revenue was up 17.5% on 18.5% more coin-in and table win grew 8.5% on 6.5% heavier wagering. One extra weekend day obviously helped, but still … Belterra Park<\/strong> was up 5% to $8 million, Scioto Downs<\/strong> leapt 21% to $19 million and Miami Valley Gaming<\/strong> hopped 19% to $19 million. MGM Northfield Park<\/strong> clung to the top spot, just barely, with $23 million (+3.5%). It was closely contested by Hollywood Columbus<\/strong> ($22 million, +12.5%) and Jack Cleveland<\/strong> (pictured<\/em>, ditto). Also bunched at the summit were Hard Rock Cincinnati<\/strong> ($21 million, +18%) and Hollywood Toledo<\/strong> ($20 million, +12.5%). Jack Thistledown<\/strong> catapulted 37% to $17 million, Hollywood Dayton<\/strong> leapt 34% to $13.5 million and Hollywood Mahoning Valley<\/strong> was good for $13 million, an 18% gain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Missouri<\/strong>‘s $163 million gross in December was an 11.5% improvement on 2019, despite a 19% plunge in visitation. Those who spent, spent big. Chief beneficiary was Ameristar St. Charles<\/strong>, propelling 24% forward to $27 million. Even Hollywood St. Louis <\/strong>saw a 4% bump to $20.5 million, while River City<\/strong> grew 10% to $22 million and Lumiere Place<\/strong> sagged 1.5% to $12.5 million. In Kansas City<\/strong>, the market leader was Ameristar Kansas City<\/strong>, up 7% to $17 million, although the overachiever was rebranded Bally’s Kansas City<\/strong>, rocketing 88.5% to $10 million. Argosy Riverside<\/strong> was flat at $14.5 million while Harrah’s North Kansas City<\/strong> booked $15 million, also flat. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to see from whom Bally’s is drawing. Outstate, the lead performer was Isle of Capri Boonville<\/strong>, up 18% to $7.5 million, with Century Cape Girardeau<\/strong> gaining 17.5% to $6 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

November in Illinois<\/strong> was very good for sports betting, with $780 million in handle, of which books held a best-ever $79 million. This was despite crummy play by the Chicago Bears<\/strong> and only three games’ worth of it. But if football handle was ‘only’ $257 million, a hot streak by the Chicago Bulls<\/strong> yielded $226 million in basketball handle. Surprisingly, tennis ($40 million) was way in front of hockey ($25 million). DraftKings<\/strong> led in handle ($289 million) but was second in revenue with $22 million. Conversely, FanDuel<\/strong> lagged a bit in volume ($216 million) but won more, $30 million. The other contenders were BetRivers<\/strong> ($128 million\/$13.5 million), Barstool Sports<\/strong> ($62 million\/$5.5 million) and PointsBet<\/strong> ($57.5 million, $6 million). Caesars Sportsbook and three other books yielded negligible revenue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Heartiest congratulations to everybody who confounded the sports books (and us) by taking the Jacksonville Jaguars<\/strong> to win yesterday. (Who knew?) The Jags’ expulsion of the Indianapolis Colts<\/strong> from the playoffs opened the door for the Las Vegas Raiders<\/strong>, who squeezed through with a narrow, last-minute win over the penalty-prone Los Angeles Chargers<\/strong>. The Raiders’ 10-7 record isn’t as good as it looks but it’s phat enough to get them a date with the Cincinnati Bengals<\/strong> next Saturday. We don’t expect the Silver & Black to prevail\u2014but who thought they’d be the #5 playoff seed either? There’s been a lot<\/em> of ugliness for Raider Nation to endure this season but winning provides a mighty big rug under which to sweep it. Oh, and belated coal and switches to NBC<\/strong>‘s Sunday Night Football<\/em>, which took all the excitement of the Chargers\/Raiders with endless<\/em> commercial breaks (they didn’t even deign to show PAT kicks) and superfluous, multi-angle, slow-motion replays on every down; CBS<\/strong> gets it done with one. Life’s too short for Sunday Night Football<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Incidentally, isn’t it ironic that the NFL<\/strong> apparently drew no umbrage from the scenario, outlined in last Friday’s Wall Street Journal<\/em>, whereby the Chargers and Raiders might collude to tie the game, thereby ensuring that both teams made the playoffs? Talk about potential match-fixing! And to think of all those decades in which the league claimed that sports betting<\/em> was a threat to the “integrity of the game.” Balderdash. NFL, put thine own house in order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

John “Mattress Mack” McIngvale<\/strong>, one of our favorite characters, has struck again. He’s laid down $1.2 million that the Alabama Crimson Tide<\/strong> beats the favored Georgia Bulldogs<\/strong> tonight for the national college championship. If the Tide rolls, McIngvale is $1.5 million richer<\/a>. Caesars Sportsbook<\/strong> took the action but the big news is that if Alabama wins, everybody who bought a mattress from McIngvale during lifetime of the bet gets their money back. That’s “george” with a capital G. It’s also good business, goosing mattress sales at McIngvale’s stories. Before the Super Bowl<\/strong>, ESPN <\/strong>reports, “He offered customers who spent $3,000 or more on a new mattress their money back if Tampa Bay<\/strong> covered.” (It did.) Well done, Mack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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