It was another bonny month for Maryland, whose casino revenues grew 55% in November, up to $67 million. It’s not an apples/apples comparison, since neither Rocky Gap Casino nor table games were in play a year ago. Tables were responsible for $21 million of last month’s gross. Maryland Live! alone represented 80% of the total revenue, grossing $53 million. The other dramatic gain was at Hollywood Casino Perryville, up 22% for a $7 million tally.
It was a not-dissimilar scenario in Illinois, where Rivers Casino alone represents 27% of the state’s $121 million gross. Players may be visiting less (-5%) and spending more (+2%) but they seem to be doing it mostly at Rivers, up 11% last month. Former powerhouse Grand Victoria Elgin suffered a 10% drop and slid behind Harrah’s Joliet ($16 million, -3%) to third place in the state. Penn National Gaming also had a not-so-good month, with an 11% decline aboard Empress Joliet and a 13% dip at redundant Alton Belle. Independent Casino Queen was down but 2% which is tantamount to cause for celebration in the Land of Lincoln.
Needless to say, November was yet another powerhouse month for Macao, where gross gambling revenues ascended 21%. To give you the potted version, Las Vegas Sands lagged both Stanley Ho and Galaxy Entertainment for VIP revenue share, 17% to 22% and 21%, respectively. However, the tables were turned (so to speak) in mass-market play, of which Sands had a 30% share, compared to 25% for Sociedade de Jogos de Macau and 15.5% for Galaxy. Melco Crown Entertainment, Wynn Resorts and MGM Resorts International had to content themselves with much smaller slices of the pie … but it’s one helluva big pie.
Manna in the desert. During a recent trade mission to Israel, Gov. Brian Sandoval (R, right) suggested bringing Las Vegas-style casino gambling to the Negev Desert. It sounds wacky at first but Nevada and Israel have many business ties, and our casino industry knows how to flourish in the wasteland. Surprisingly, Sheldon Adelson is sitting this one out.
Kudos to Parx Casino, which has contributed more to charity than all its Pennsylvania brethren put together. And shame on the other casinos for failing to match Parx’s open-handedness.
