It was another good month at MGM National Harbor, which grossed almost $2 million per day in November, an above-average take for the pleasure palace. Slots were up 15% (to $31 million) while table 
games leapt 46%, grossing $26 million. MGM took 41% of market share in the Free State. The prosperity was shared with Maryland Live, up 12% to $49 million. Table games continued to propel Ocean Downs, up 34% to $5 million. Everybody else faced some form of decline. Hollywood Perryville ($5 million) was down 6%, Rocky Gap Casino slipped 3% to $4 million. Perhaps the biggest disappointment was Horseshoe Baltimore, down 14% for a $19.5 million haul.
Over in West Virginia, the state continues to hold off competition fairly well, with slots down 2% and tables minus 4%. Hollywood Casino had an above-average performance, off 1%. Up in Pennsylvania, there’s not been a dollar of Internet gambling yet, not one satellite casino has opened and sports betting is still getting on its feet. Yet the state has booked 
$385 million in revenue from fees and taxes connected with gaming expansion, a number that Gov. Tom Wolf (D) has to like. The state collected an above-expectations $128 million from auctioning off mini-casinos, $94 million from collecting online-gambling petitions, $78 million in casino-license fees, $60 million in sports-betting petitions and DFS tax revenue of $1.5 million. The latter is obviously small potatoes (and may become smaller now that sports betting is legal) but we hope that the windfall makes up for the market saturation that is coming down the road.
As gaming analyst Jessica Welman put it, “If the point of the expansion was to fill short-term gaps in the state’s budget, then the expansion would have to be considered a success so far. We believe 
that the gambling expansion will eventually prove to be a winner for the state’s budget, but the long-term picture is less certain. More casinos and sportsbooks must open before we get a clear picture of whether Pennsylvania’s relatively steep tax rates and license fees will produce the desired outcome.” Colleague Dustin Gouker said a slowdown in casino revenue would be offset by sports betting, noting “If New Jersey is any indication, though, the more significant revenue generator will be online sports betting. A successful rollout there should generate millions of dollars in tax revenue for the state.”
Concluded Welman, “The most notable aspect of the significant revenue that has been generated is that this is almost completely from fees, rather than tax revenue gained from gamblers [$800 million]. Clearly there is enough interest in Pennsylvania’s enormous market so far to generate the fees.” Uh, we’ll see about that. I say the jury’s still out.
* It was a down month for Illinois, with gaming revenues off by 1.5%. To look on the bright side, the impact of slot routes appears to be slowing. Only Harrah’s Joliet (down 3%, $14 million) suffered in the 
Chicagoland market. Rivers Casino ($34 million) and Empress Joliet ($9.5 million) were flat, while Hollywood Aurora ($9 million) gained 4% and Eldorado Resorts is already turning things around at Grand Victoria ($13 million, up 2.5%). Mid-state, both Par-A-Dice (-6%, $6 million) and Jumer’s Casino Rock Island (-10.5%, $5 million) had a hard time of it.
Further south, Harrah’s Metropolis shed 4% on its was to a $6 million gross. In the St. Louis market, Casino Queen fell 5% to $7 million while Argosy Belle was flat at $3.5 million.
* Leading economic indicators for Macao are soft (including a 10% slowdown in exports). But the enclave beat expectations for November by posting an 8.5% gain in gambling revenue. Wrote Credit Suisse analyst Cameron McKnight, “expectations of 5-10% y/y growth for December are not unreasonable.” The HKZM Bridge is a 
success, bringing over 800,000 travelers since its inception and causing the Macanese government to crack down on day-trippers in an attempt to incentivize longer stays (hotel occupancy reacted positively, up 6%). “Macau-exposed stocks” rebounded on news of a temporary cessations of U.S./China trade wars but the gain was short-lived.
In what is bad news for every Macao-based gaming operator except Sociedade de Jogos de Macau, “several major Japanese banks are warning that they will refuse loans to potential integrated resort operators” in Japan. No reason was given but this looks like a ‘win’ for the home teams.
