Casino gambling in Ohio last month generated $91 million — an 81% increase on last year. But, when you look same-store results, there was a lot of robbing Peter to pay Paul. Penn National Gaming‘s Hollywood Casino Columbus, Caesars Entertainment‘s Horseshoe Cincinatti and its Thistledown Racetrack racino weren’t around a year ago. So, what the data tells us that they’re paradoxically creating many new players but also skimming the cream off existing operations. Horseshoe Cleveland fell 8%, Hollywood Toledo dropped 12% and MTR Gaming‘s Scioto Downs plunged 21%. (I wonder what that’ll do to the MTR bidding war?)
Both of Penn’s casinos were well below the Mendoza Line of slot performance ($200/slot/day), Horseshoe Cleveland was a bit above it and Horseshoe Cincinnati comfortably ahead. Although its table-game-hold percentage is the weakest in the state, Horseshoe Cleveland rakes in by far the most at the tables, $2,308 on average. As operators prepare to either expand or debut (Pinnacle Entertainment) in the Buckeye State, these latest numbers should motivate them to manage expectations.
