Missouri booms; Trop sale a steal of a deal

After a hiccup in Indiana, gaming revenues continued to march (pun unintended) upward from 2019 levels, which were pretty darn robust. Missouri gained 6% for a gross of $176.5 million, “one of the best months ever” according to JP Morgan analyst Joseph Greff. Slots represented $155 million of the haul. “Similar to other March regional [gross gaming revenue] reports, results for the month reflect a nice positive inflection given lower infection and higher vaccination rates. Moreover, impressive results don’t include significant rebound in the core 55+ customer, which we expect to follow in the coming months,” wrote Greff. Lumiere Place (pictured) continues to turn around, up 8% to $17 million, good news for Caesars Entertainment. Also feeling the love was Boyd Gaming, up 12.5% to $28 million at Ameristar St. Charles. Not having such a good time of it was Penn National Gaming, flopping 23.5% at Hollywood St. Louis ($17.5 million), while River City was down 9% but bettered Hollywood with $19 million.

Moving on to Kansas City, Penn fared more happily, up 6% to $16 million at Argosy Riverside. Boyd led the market with $20 million at Ameristar Kansas City (+5.5%). Second was Harrah’s North Kansas City nudging 2% to $18.5 million. Bally’s Corp. had a triumph at Casino Kansas City (gotta work on that name), vaulting 51% to $10 million. Play was really buzzing out in the sticks, led by Isle of Capri Boonville (up 13% to $9 million), followed by Century Cape Girardeau (+26%, $8 million), Century Caruthersville (+39%, $5 million), St. Jo Frontier (+97%, $4.5 million) and Mark Twain (+39%, $4 million). So it was a good month for (almost) everybody.

Up in Iowa, gaming revenues leapt 17% from 2019 levels, for a March statewide gross of $166.5 million. With almost 20 casinos and racinos in the market (not counting three tribal properties), the results were pretty fragmented. The biggest gainer was Rhythm City Casino, vaulting 55% to $11 million. The only significant loser was Casino Queen Marquette, down 16% to $2 million. Other major gains were reported by Grand Falls Casino Resort, hopping 49% to $8.5 million and Riverside Casino Resort, jumping 40% to $12 million. Biggest grosses were seen at Prairie Meadows racino ($22 million, +9.5%), Horseshoe Casino ($18.5 million, +12%) and Ameristar Council Bluffs ($17 million, +8%). Boyd had mixed results, flat at Diamond Jo in Dubuque ($7 million) but up 17.5% to $10 million at Diamond Jo Worth. Other Caesars properties performed pretty well: Harrah’s Council Bluffs up 3% to $6.5 million, The Isle Waterloo leaping 18% to $10 million and Isle of Capri Bettendorf gaining 19% to finish at $7.5 million.

Sports betting grew dramatically in terms of revenue, going from $8 million in February to $13.5 million in March. Handle was $161.5 million. DraftKings led market share at 27%, followed by Caesars/William Hill and FanDuel, deadlocked at 22% each. The growth in business can partly be attributed to relatively new (Jan. 1) online registration, always a boon to bettors. “Iowa was one of the few legal sports betting jurisdictions to actually improve per-day betting in February, so it is no surprise that sportsbooks set new highs in March,” noted PlayUSA analyst Jessica Welman. With the University of Iowa and Drake University both in the NCAA Tournament (not to mention the UI and Iowa State women’s teams), roundball betting definitely juiced the numbers. BetMGM and BetRivers were also beneficiaries of all the action, although Barstool Sports hasn’t appeared on the scene … yet.

It doesn’t appear likely that sports betting in Arizona will incept in time for NFL season but maybe by the playoffs. (Playoffs? PLAYoffs? You’re talking about playoffs?) The biggest hitch is that Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland has to approve the amended compacts that will give tribes their share of the action. The remaining 10 licenses are set aside for professional teams whose venues seat 10K spectators or more “including any site that hosts a PGA golf event or site that hosts a race for the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing,” according to AZCentral.com. TPC Scottsdale and Phoenix Raceway are among the expected beneficiaries. The betting doesn’t even have to be on-site, just within a five-block radius. No in-person registration is required, yippee! Meanwhile, 16 tribes get to jockey for the other 10 licenses.

The other downsides include no prop bets on college sports—winners and spreads only. Free play, yes, credit, no. DFS is legal—a big boost for DraftKings and FanDuel—but only at kiosks in fraternal and veterans’ organizations, and horse tracks, an obvious sop to the horsey set. Finally, keno will be allowed, both online and at the same sites as DFS. So you might call it a ‘something for everybody’ bill.

It saddens us to report this but the value of the Tropicana Las Vegas is sinking fast. In 2009, Onex Corp. acquired a $440 million note on the property—and with it the Trop. Fast-forward to 2015 and enter Penn National Gaming for $360 million. Penn got nowhere fast with the Trop and eventually put it on the block. Evidently finding no takers it traded it to affiliated REIT Gaming & Leisure Properties Inc. for $337.5 million in rent credits. Now Bally’s Corp. has nabbed it for $308 million. ($150 million for the operating company and 50 years’ rent.) We love the Trop and hope Bally’s succeeds where Onex struggled and Penn failed outright … but we can’t argue that it didn’t get a Filene’s Basement bargain.

Americans for Nonsmokers Rights continues to marshal arguments for why banning smoking in casinos is good business. Ho-Chunk Madison Executive Manager Dan Brown says, “We have to be looking to the future and what kind of market are we going to try to cultivate. At the time we enacted the ban the millennials were the hot ticket, and that’s an active group, they’re outdoors doing things, they’re into healthy lifestyles.” Brown is quick to note that Ho-Chunk has seen record revenues since nixing smoking in 2018. Adds Brian Christopher, a social influencer who has a whole section of the Plaza Hotel‘s slot floor dedicated to his favorite games, “If safety were their Number One priority, there would be no smoking. I just came back from being at a smoking casino for five days and I’ve been coughing now for two weeks. It’s just not good, and working in it has got to be a lot worse for [employees].” He says casino executives “don’t make that effort. They literally just walk in their own casinos and see smoke, so they think everyone is smoking.” We strongly suspect that Christopher is right, especially in the face of laughable gestures like Palazzo‘s nicotine-choked “smoke-free corridors.”