Illinois has had far worse months than July, which was down only 5%.
Admissions were off 9%, implying a 4% higher spend/visitor. Rivers Casino was flat but still managed to gross double what Harrah’s Joliet managed. The latter, however, was up 6%, enough to negate a -9% month at Harrah’s Metropolis and lift the Caesars Entertainment portfolio 1%. Harrah’s Joliet was the only Land of Lincoln casino to grow its revenue, although Rivers Casino’s sanguine results and a mere 1% decline at Jumer’s Casino Rock Island helped make for a relatively stable month.
The Penn National Gaming portfolio took a moderate clobbering, down 11% at poor sister Alton Belle, off 8% at Hollywood Aurora and posting an average -5% at Empress Joliet. It was much worse for Boyd Gaming‘s Par-A-Dice, -15%, and MGM Resorts International‘s Grand Victoria, down 14%. Once the top-grossing casino in the state it is now a distant third.
* For a change, Indiana was worse off, especially with the Cincinnati market sucking playing out of the southern end of the state. Penn’s 
Hollywood Casino Lawrenceburg had the worst of it, down 27%. Relatively close behind were Pinnacle Entertainment‘s Belterra (-19%) and independent Rising Sun (-18%). Further back, but still hurting, were Horseshoe Southern Indiana and French Lick (both -8%). Casino Aztar, in Evansville, is doing a nice job of defying the spread of convenience gambling in Illinois, up 6%. The racinos had a mixed month, with Indiana Downs up 2% but Hoosier Park down 5%.
In the state’s northern tier, the two Majestic Star boats posted their customarily uninspiring numbers, -6.5% and 16%, respectively. Boyd had a good month at Blue Chip (up 4%) and Ameristar East Chicago (above) was flat while Horseshoe Hammond suffered an uncharacteristic dive, -18%.
* “The longstanding image of gambling as a no-doubt winner for state governments has quietly gone the way of a bettor’s bankroll after too many hours at the tables,” reports the New York Times. As industry analyst Harold L. Vogel says of Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), “He’s 15 years too late to the party.” For an extreme example of what Vogel means, look at Delaware, where the racino industry is cadging for state handouts.
Cuomo’s White House aspirations could hinge upon “a large influx of 
revenue and economic activity in the run-up to the 2016 presidential campaign.” That means the selection process could be tilted toward where it will make the most money: Orange County. A report from the state comptroller’s office warns to expect most of the money to come from in-state. In other words, it’s already being played in New York State somewhere. Much of that is at the country’s leading racino, Resorts World New York.
Whoever thought to juxtapose a casino with a Syracuse-area Amish farm, though, ought to have his head examined for rocks. Downstate racinos are also among the opposition to upstate casinos, which also will be in a footrace with Massachusetts to see who can get their gambling parlors open first. The Cuomo administration dismisses all this as “just a part of a comprehensive effort to grow the upstate economy and bring good-paying jobs to these host communities.” With the jobs projected to earn $30K-$40K a year, it begs the question of whether they will be good enough.
