Despite the excellent November performance of surrounding Midwest states, Indiana casinos were up only 1% last month. Factor in an extra weekend day this year and that’s a pretty underwhelming result. In its last
full month of service, riverboat Glory of Rome brought in $17 million for Caesars Southern Indiana, down 9%. Caesars Entertainment‘s two racinos fared better, with Hoosier Park grossing $16 million, up 3%, and Indiana Downs up 6% to $20.5 million. Hollywood Lawrenceburg was up 1.5% to $14.5 million while Tropicana Evansville rose 6% to $12.5 million. Boyd Gaming and Full House Resorts didn’t fare so well. Belterra Resort ceded 5% to $8 million and Rising Star sank 14% to $3.5 million. French Lick Resort grossed $8 million for a 2% gain.
In the Hoosier State’s northern tier, Horseshoe Hammond was dominant, up 8% to a hefty $32 million. Next best was Ameristar East Chicago, down 2% to $18 million. Boyd’s Blue Chip chipped in $13 million, a 5% gain, while the two Majestic Star boats contributed $7 million (-1.5%) and $4 million (-10%) respectively. The bright spot for the state was $147 million in sports-betting handle. “Bettors overwhelmingly prefer the convenience and safety of online 
sports books, and the addition of DraftKings and FanDuel in October was like adding rocket fuel to Indiana‘s sports betting industry,” observed PlayIndiana.com analyst Dustin Gouker. Ameristar’s DraftKings-branded book had the plurality of wagers with $64 million. Following were FanDuel’s Blue Chip sports book, with $24 million, and the $8.5 million wagered at French Lick’s BetRivers-branded book. Horseshoe Hammond led terrestrial books, with $13 million, followed by Hollywood Lawrenceburg’s $9 million. Yes, long-suffering Cincinnati Bengals fans are wagering on their team—but are they betting for it to win?
* Speaking of Ohio, its casinos grossed $161 million, a 9% jump. Dan Gilbert‘s two Jack-branded casinos performed impressively, with Jack Cleveland gaining 7.5% ($19 million) and Jack Cincinnati ahead 7% ($17.5 million). Penn National Gaming‘s two casinos were relatively becalmed, 
with Hollywood Columbus flat at $18.5 million and Hollywood Toledo up 1% to $16 million. Ohio gamblers definitely don’t mind the absence of table games, judging by the performance of the state’s racinos. Churchill Downs‘ joint-venture Miami Valley Gaming galloped 24.5% forward, grossing $15.5 million, while Jack Thistledown was a frisky 18.5% up to $12 million. MGM Northfield Park retained its top spot in the Buckeye State, up 6% to $21.5 million, while Belterra Park gained 8% to $7 million. Scioto Downs leapt 13.5% to $15 million and Hollywood Dayton was up 10.5% to $10 million, while overachiever Hollywood Mahoning Valley cantered 11% forward to $10 million.
* Missouri casinos grossed $144.5 million, a 4.5% uptick surely not entirely attributable to that extra weekend day. Slots ($124 million) were up 8% while tables ($20.5 million) gained 12%. Despite shedding 2.5%, Ameristar St. Charles retained the top spot with $21 million. Close behind were Hollywood St. Louis, surging 14% to $20 million, and River 
City, almost hitting $20 million for a 1% gain. Lumiere Place fell 5.5% to $12 million. Eldorado Resorts seems to be ceding all the gains that Tropicana Entertainment made. In the Kansas City area Ameristar Kansas City was tops with $16.5 million, a 12% upsurge, followed by Harrah’s North Kansas ($14.5 million, +5.5%) and Argosy Riverside ($14 million, +2%), while Isle of Capri brought up the rear with $5.5 million for a 7% gain. There was significant movement in some of the outstate casinos, with Mark Twain springing 21.5% to $3 million, Lady Luck Caruthersville gaining 12.5% to $3 million and Isle of Capri Boonville up 10% to $6.5 million.
* Galaxy Entertainment is officially out of the Philippines, having been left high and dry by its joint venture partner. Said the latter’s Eusebio Tanco, “We are not looking at a casino. But I’m keeping that 
piece of land. I’ll just hold on to that piece of land, but I’m not going to do a casino there. I’ll just land-bank it.” The Galaxy project had been stalled ever since authoritarian Filipino ruler Rodrigo Duterte said, “The voice of the people is the voice of god. If it is the wish of the population here that they do not want a casino, then there will be no casino.” Who can argue with the voice of God?
* That Las Vegas Strip craze for steak continues, this time at the Flamingo. A Mob-themed restaurant, Steaks & Alibis, is under construction, whereupon you will have the opportunity to “have dinner with the family.” It’s an offer you can’t refuse—and, yes, they play a joke off that, too.
* In the era of resort fees, it’s not surprising that hotel customers would want to get back at their hosts. As CNN reports, coffee makers are going AWOL—as are mattresses, believe it or not. (Full confession: I once took a robe from a Hilton after they wouldn’t sell it to me.) The dead of night is the favored time for sneaking pilfered mattresses past security—evidently no one is checking the eye in the sky. Nor are TVs safe, despite often being bolted to the wall. “In a lot of cases, [hotels] don’t report it to the police, because they don’t want to be connected to crime,” said Wellness Heaven CEO Tassilo Keilmann. After all, who wants to be known as the hotel from which a stuffed boar’s head was pilfered?
