Lawmakers in Illinois obviously don’t care about the future of the state’s 10 extant casinos, considering the next gaming expansion (following slot routes) that they are preparing to ram through. If they 
bothered to look at the market, they’d see that in the Land of Lincoln what is needed is less competition, not more. Casinos in the northern tier were flat with last year, led Rivers Casino ($37.5 million) off 2%. Harrah’s Joliet did well, up 3.5% to $15 million but the coffee achiever was MGM Resorts International‘s Grand Victoria, up 6% to $15 million. Hollywood Aurora‘s $10 million represented a 1.5% increase while Empress Joliet was down 2.5% to $11 million.
You have to wonder why Gaming & Leisure Properties (and Penn National Gaming) continue to bother with Argosy Belle, so meagre are its takings, the merest shadow of its days as the flagship of the Argosy Gaming fleet, It fell 19% to $3.5 million. GLPI’s Casino Queen also fell 9% to $9 million. Further downstate, Harrah’s Metropolis slipped 3% to $6.5 million. In Peoria, the bleeding was temporarily stanched at Boyd Gaming‘s Par-A-Dice, down only 1% to $7 million. Jumer’s Casino Rock Island was not so fortunate, falling 11% to $6 million.
* MGM National Harbor continues to grow the Maryland market, up 31% last month. By the same token that’s 18% less for everybody else in the Free State. The MGM megaresort grossed $50.5 million, with an 
above-average $273/slot/day and owns 37% of the market share in the state. “We view this as positive/ encouraging for MGM, as it shows the property has maintained its momentum,” wrote JP Morgan analyst Joseph Greff. While still robust, Maryland Live‘s $46 million represented a 22% drop-off. Horseshoe Baltimore grossed $23 million, an 18% declivity. Penn can’t seem to do anything right at Horseshoe Casino Perryville, down 8% to $6 million. By contrast, Golden Entertainment continues to grow Rocky Gap Casino, up 7% to $5 million. Those may seem like small potatoes but Golden has consistently improved year/year since taking charge.
* There’s not much to be said in favor of bloodstained Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte but he at least has given the country’s casino-regulatory agency Pagor marching orders to stick to regulation and privatize its 37 casinos (11 large ones and 36 pocket ones). Besides, it has other problems with which to deal. At present there’s uncertainty about whether Pagcor wants to bundle them into one big sale — which really ought to cut down on the number of bidders — or do it piecemeal. The difficult part may be finding buyers, as Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez has admitted there aren’t any at this point.
Of Duterte’s directive, Casino.org speculated, “Maybe US President Donald Trump told his Filipino counterpart … just how difficult it is to run casinos profitably.” Only if you’re Donald Trump they are.
* Speaking of Trump, the American Gaming Association has broken with his administration over a line item in the 2018 budget. The disputed cut would zero out Brand USA, which was created to market the U.S. as a travel destination in the wake of the 9/11 massacres. But David, you say, visitation to Las Vegas is higher than ever. Surely Brand USA has done its job. I’ve no opinion in the matter but yield the 
floor to AGA President Geoff Freeman, who says, “We need to have a system that is both inviting and welcoming for bringing travelers. If we’re not going to ask them for their business, they’re not going to come. That’s where Brand USA comes in.”
He’s backed by 300-plus businesses and marketing outfits, who write, “According to Oxford Economics, over the last four years Brand USA has attracted 4.3 million incremental visitors; $13.6 billion in related spending; and $29.5 billion in total economic impact, including nearly $3.9 billion in federal, state and local taxes. This has supported 50,900 incremental jobs annually and overall yielded an astonishing 27-to-1 return on investment … Its activities are supported by private sector contributions and matched by a $10 fee paid by international visitors from Visa Waiver Program nations.” Those are some impressive numbers. I’d hate to lose them.
