Illinois‘ casino industry has never recovered from the Great Recession. We’ll never know if it would have done so but the inception of slot routes has basically nipped any recovery in the bud. As such, the Land of Lincoln will have to be content with 
small gains, such as last month’s 2% uptick in gambling revenues, $116.5 million. Players were spending 5% more but were 3.5% fewer in number. Penn National Gaming-run casinos were flat for the month, with a stagnant performance at Hollywood Aurora ($10 million) to some extent negating a 3% gain at Empress Joliet ($15 million), while Argosy Belle grew business 2.5% for $4 million. Boyd Gaming‘s Par-A-Dice had an unwontedly good month, up 3.5% ($6.5 million). It should be noted that Penn and Boyd have the best of both worlds, since they also own slot routes.
Devouring 31.5% of the state’s market share, Rivers Casino jumped 5% to $37 million. Grand Victoria, however, slumped 9%, to $13 million. No problem at the two Caesars Entertainment properties, however, up 5% for an aggregate $22 million (despite a modest decrease at Harrah’s Metropolis). GLPI‘s Casino Queen was flat at $8.5 million and Jumer’s Casino Rock Island was up 4% to $6 million. An extra weekend day may have helped.
Over in Indiana, growth was more robust, up 5% ($182 million), mainly driven by improved business in the southern tier. An 8% dropoff in foot traffic was nullified by a 12.5% increase in betting. Despite being down a percentage point, Horseshoe Southern Indiana almost led the pack with $20 million, eked out by soon-
to-be-Caesars Indiana Downs with $20.5 million. Centaur Gaming‘s other racino, Hoosier Park, raked in $16 million, an 8% gain. Hollywood Lawrenceburg grossed $14 million, a 4% improvement, while Rising Sun posted an eye-catching 27% gain, to $4.5 million. Not to be outdone, Tropicana Evansville was up 16.5% to $12 million. Business was also very good for French Lick Resort, up 15% to $8.5 million. Belterra rose 5% for a $10 million gross.
In the northern tier, Horseshoe Hammond was flat but still dominant with $32 million. Four Winds Casino continues to chip away at Blue Chip‘s business, down 3% to $13 million. Ameristar East Chicago did fine, up 8% to $19 million, while the two Majestic Star boats grossed $7.5 million (+1%) and $5 million (+6.5%) between them.
In Missouri, gambling revenue rose 6% to $148 million. According to Deutsche Bank analyst Carlo Santarelli, “outperformance in the table segment” at Penn and Pinnacle Entertainment properties drove the results. Foot traffic was flat but visitor spend rose 5.5%. River City grossed $19 million, up 8%, while Ameristar St. Charles pulled in $22 million (+4.5%) and 
Ameristar Kansas City‘s $16 million was a 7% gain. Harrah’s North Kansas City was flat with a $14.5 million gross. Tropicana Entertainment‘s Lumiere Place continues to be a comeback story, revenue leaping 21% to $15 million. Eldorado Resorts‘ four small casinos grossed $21 million, flat year-over-year, while numbers for Affinity Gaming‘s Mark Twain Casino were $3 million, up 7%. Penn National gained 11% at Argosy Riverside ($14 million) and 3% at Hollywood St. Louis ($19.5 million).
The most dramatic results hailed from Ohio, where gaming revenues grew 8.5% ($155.5 million). With $22 million and a 13% gain, Hard Rock Rocksino led the Buckeye State by a 
comfortable margin. The only revenue-negative casino was Jack Cincinnati, down 2% to $15 million. In the Cleveland area, Jack Thistledown blossomed 18% to $11 million, while Jack Cleveland was up 9.5% to $16.5 million. Hollywood Columbus‘ $19 million represented a 7.5% gain while Hollywood Toledo rose 4% to almost $17 million.
Among the other racinos, Scioto Downs jumped 15% to $15 million, Belterra Park gained 4% to $7 million and Miami Valley Gaming was up 9.5% to $13 million. Hollywood Dayton sprang 12.5% to $8.5 million and overachieving Hollywood Mahoning Valley grossed $10 million for a 7% increase.
Uff da!
