Casinos in clover nationwide; Mega-Jottings for a Monday

Masters Week has come and gone, and Augusta now sinks back into an 11-month torpor. Which also helps us return to standard-edition S&G. (Seen on the marquee of the church closest to Augusta National: “This is Amen Corner.”) Where to begin?

For all the talk of inflation, shortages and hardships these days, one thing is incontrovertibly plentiful: discretionary income as manifested in gambling revenue. Every state in the upper Midwest save one is reporting casino winnings higher than 2019. The lone loser is … Illinois. No surprise there. It’s 5.5% down on the surface and when temporary Hard Rock Rockford is subtracted, the declivity is 9.5%, for a total of $119 million (inclusive). For the glass-half-full perspective, revenue is 8% higher than March 2021, when casinos were still on the comeback trail. Nor was March 2022 helped by two fewer weekend days.

When one delves into the numbers, one finds Rivers Des Plaines propping up the state with $44 million (+2%). Harrah’s Metropolis had a spectacular month, rocketing 83% to $5.5 million. And Hard Rock chimed in with $5 million. As for everybody else, there was little joy. Bally’s Quad Cities is slow to gain traction from its rebranding, down 28% to $5 million, Par-A-Dice slumped 22% to $6 million, Argosy Alton was down 30% to $3 million and DraftKings Casino Queen slipped 17% to $8 million. Harrah’s Joliet was down 19.5% to $13 million while Grand Victoria dipped only 2% to $14 million and second place. Empress Joliet fell 29% to $8 million and Hollywood Aurora slid 19% to $9 million. Illinois sports betting predictably snoozed in February, with $679.5 million wagered for a haul of $35.5 million. DraftKings and FanDuel equally predictably dominated market share.

Now for the good news. Ohio gaming revenue, while flat with last March was 17.5% higher than go-go 2019 for $216 million, a record amount. Were it not for that absent weekend, who knows how well Buckeye State casinos would have performed. Confounding the conventional wisdom that table games are Where It’s At, slots-only MGM Northfield Park was the pace car with $26 million (6.5% over 2019), followed hotly by Jack Cleveland ($24.5 million, +24%), Hollywood Columbus ($23.5 million, +9%), Hard Rock Cincinnati ($23 million, +15%), Hollywood Toledo ($22.5 million, +13%), Scioto Downs ($22 million, +24%) and Miami Valley Gaming ($20 million, +17%), another canny Churchill Downs investment. Slightly further back was Jack Thistledown (pictured, $17.5 million, +34.5%) and then came some pretty happy also-rans: Hollywood Mahoning Valley ($14.5 million, +21.5%), Hollywood Dayton ($14 million, +29.5%) and Belterra Park ($8.5 million, +9.5%). Since most of the properties are racinos we can only say, Tally ho!

Indiana outperformed last year by 12.5% and 2019 (which we’ll use for comparison) by 8%. The haul was $235 million, led by Hard Rock Northern Indiana‘s $38.5 million. Horseshoe Hammond was close behind with $34.5 million but the gap keeps widening, as it is -10.5% off 2019’s pace (having started the year at -2%). Ameristar East Chicago ceded 13% to $20 million, while off to the east Blue Chip slipped 16.5% to $13 million. Best of the rest was Indiana Grand‘s $32.5 million, up 9%, while counterpart Harrah’s Hoosier Downs was 14% up to $23.5 million. Hardest-hit was Belterra Resort, falling 23% to $8 million, while French Lick Resort slid 18.5% to $7 million. Bally’s Evansville continues to benefit from a rebrand, up 5% to $16 million, while original-flavor Caesars Southern Indiana hopped 9% to $22 million. That leaves Hollywood Lawrenceburg, flat at $16 million, and little Rising Star, down 11% to $4 million.

Missouri‘s casino take “normalized,” in the sense that it was flat with 2021’s, yet it improved 6% over March 2019, with an overall haul of $177 million. The Bally’s name is doing wonders in Kansas City, where business improved 69.5% to $11 million and competitors felt the pinch. Harrah’s Kansas City (shown) ceded 6% to $17 million, Ameristar Kansas City was flat at $18.5 million and Argosy Riverside bucked the trend with a 2% gain toward $16 million. In the St. Louis area, Ameristar St. Charles remains king with $26.5 million (+7%). Hollywood St. Louis slipped 4% to $22 million, River City perked up 13% to $23.5 million and Lumiere Place slipped 9% to a distant fourth with $14.5 million. Elsewhere, Isle of Capri Boonville was steady (+1%) at $8 million, Century Cape Girardeau was up 9.5% to $7 million and Century Caruthersville jumped 25% to $5 million.

We don’t normally bother with Iowa and its mostly small-time casinos but let’s look at what a few of the major players were doing. Revenues actually slipped 2% from last year but were 15% over 2019’s (maybe it’s time to abandon the 2019/2022 comparisons; whaddya say, Wall Street?). The overall gross was $164 million. Outstanding performers were two racinos, Prairie Meadows with $21 million (+3%) and Horseshoe Casino’s $19 million (+16%). Caesars Entertainment and Penn National Gaming duked it out in Council Bluffs, with victory going to Ameristar Council Bluffs ($18 million, +11%) over Harrah’s Council Bluffs ($7 million, +8%). Boyd Gaming‘s Diamond Jo Dubuque was flat at $7 million while its Diamond Jo Worth climbed 14% to $10 million. A bright spot for Caesars was Isle Waterloo, up 15% to $9.5 million.

March was indeed mad in New York State, where $1.6 billion in sports wagers were placed. Operators kept $56 million (before promotional allowances) and forked over $58 million to the state. That makes $152 million in taxes in three months, more than Pennsylvania in all of last year. FanDuel dominated winnings with $58 million, followed distantly by DraftKings’ $23 million and Caesars Sportsbook‘s $21.5 million. “FanDuel’s start has been remarkable, producing more revenue in March than most states’ entire sports betting industries will,” PlayUSA analyst Eric Ramsey marveled.

Nevada sports books must have heaved a sigh of relief when Tiger Woods double-bogeyed to blow his chance at an improbable upset in last weekend’s Masters tournament. It avoided what would have a “six-figure liability” created by long-shot bettors who wagered large on Woods. Rather than take a bath on a prop bet whether Tiger would play at all, Circa Sports removed it from the tote board. Books still screwed the pooch, though, by making Jon Rahm the favorite at 11-1, ignoring Scottie Scheffler‘s recent hot streak.

Jottings: Residents of Chicago turned out in large and hostile droves at three listening sessions devoted to the remaining casino proposals for the Second City. Bally’s Corp. Chairman Soo Kim tried to allay NIMBY concerns by saying, among other things, “The worst place to commit a crime is around a casino” … Sports betting is now legal in Ontario. 16 operators—including BetMGM and Caesars Sportsbook—are vying for a slice of what’s expected to be a huge market … What’s better than one CEO? How about three, as is the case at NagaCorp. All are sons of founder Chen Lip Keong. Nepotism much? … In a snub of Macao—but not of Las Vegas Sands—the next Global Gaming Expo Asia will be held in Singapore (not at Venetian Macao, as is traditional) at Marina Bay Sands. The show has not been held in three years … Conventions continue to look better in Las Vegas. The NAB Show has surpassed 900 exhibitors, including 160 first-timers … Congratulations to Bailey Schulz, who has escaped the Las Vegas Review-Journal in favor of USA Today. She reports that Palms Casino Resort has ditched rows of slots in favor of more intimate “pods” … Continuing a trend started by the Sahara (which has the most dickwad PR people imaginable, BTW), the Lucky Club Hotel & Casino will reposition itself around Sin City’s Latino community. Given the Hispanic vibe of North Las Vegas, it just makes sense … Continuing its steadfast march forward into the 19th century, the Georgia Lege yet again failed to legalize sports betting. If enacted, it would have been taxed at 20%, with money going toward education.

Quote of the Day: “Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage.”—motivational speaker Dale Carnegie.