Missouri was down 4% last month, no explanation given, with a statewide gross of $134 million. The decline was driven by lower slot play, as table-game revenues ($20 million) were up 7%. Penn National 
Gaming had a good result at River City, up 3% ($17.5 million), offset by declines at Hollywood St. Louis ($18.5 million, -1%) and Argosy Riverside ($12.5 million, -9.5%). Boyd Gaming gained 2% at Ameristar St. Charles ($21 million) but yielded 2% at Ameristar Kansas City ($12.5 million). Eldorado Resorts had a really bad month at Lumiere Place, down 12% to $12 million. Harrah’s North Kansas City slipped 5%, finishing at $12 million. Affinity Gaming also had some adversity at Mark Twain Casino, down 7.5% to $2.5 million.
As for the rest of the Eldorado portfolio, it was a study in malaise. Isle of Capri Kansas City was down 5% to $5 million, Isle Cape Girardeau did the same, Lady Luck Caruthersville was luckless (-3%, $5 million) and Isle Boonville dipped 3% to $6 million, making it the coffee achiever of the bunch.
Not only did Iowa casinos get hammered overall, down 7%, but the majors didn’t find that they name brands helped them any. Racino and riverboat revenues declined symmetrically, for a statewide gross of 
$104 million. Boyd’s two casinos took on water, with Diamond Jo Dubuque 8% lower to $5 million and Diamond Jo Worth toppling 17% to $5 million. Isle of Capri Bettendorf was down 6% to $5 million and Isle Waterloo fell 5% to $6 million. Harrah’s Council Bluffs was off 2%, finishing at $5 million, while Horseshoe Council Bluffs tumbled 13% to $11.5 million. Rounding out the month for the big boys was Penn’s Ameristar Council Bluffs, plunging 10% to $11.5 million. Casinos bosses will surely be happier for the advent of warmer weather, literally and metaphorically.
* Carl Icahn‘s stake in Caesars Entertainment now stands at 17.75%, as he tries to force the issue of a sale, even though buyers are thin on the ground. Uncle Carl’s efforts to goose the stock price (if that is what they are) don’t seem to be working. CZR is dredging the shallows at $8.59/share as I type this.
* New Jersey and Michigan, and 10 other states plus the District of Columbia have piled onto the Trump Department of Justice for its reinterpretation of the Federal Wire Act. Both the Garden State and the Michigan Lottery filed amicus briefs in the case. Pennsylvania wants to 
be a co-litigant, alongside New Hampshire, but the courts are nixing that for the moment. The DOJ’s errant ruling would actually roll back the Wire Act so far that it would outlaw things like online lotteries, which operated happily even before the Obama administration loosened the strings. Eleven state lotteries and D.C.’s are piggybacking onto the Michigan brief.
As the New Jersey brief says, “other aspects of New Jersey’s iGaming industry involve interstate use of the wires, notwithstanding the best efforts of the regulators, operators, and participants. It is simply the nature of the Internet that even purely intrastate transactions may travel through channels that cross state lines.” This is what happens when an administration tries to apply a 1961 law to technologies that were not even remotely envisioned 58 years ago.
* Eldorado Resorts is one step closer to be shot of its grossly underperforming Lady Luck Nemacolin. Burgeoning Churchill Downs has bought up the management contract and hopefully will market the small resort casino more aggressively. Eldorado finds itself $100,000 richer as a consequence of the deal and we can’t say that Churchill Downs overpaid. Both sides were keeping mum about whether heads would roll at Lady Luck(less), although we tend to think CHDN will insource management to its corporate hub. Lady Lucky has been struggling along with 27 table games and 600 slots. It foolishly passed up opportunities to drop amenity fees and get in on sports betting. Let’s hope Churchill Downs rectifies those mistakes.
* Sorry, Las Vegas: You didn’t make WalletHub‘s list of the top 30 places to watch college basketball. So much for all those sports bettors who travel to Sin City to have a flutter on March Madness. What’s supposedly the best city for a college basketball fan? Lawrence, Kansas. Go figure.
