Big month for Hard Rock Atlantic City; Sunset Station unionizes

Atlantic City‘s two heaviest hitters had a not-so-merry month of May. Borgata fell 15%, to $52 million, and Tropicana Atlantic City tumbled 18%, landing at $25 million and ceding second place for the first time to Hard Rock Atlantic City (guess that business plan is paying off), which grossed $28.5 million. Other revenue-negative casinos were Bally’s Atlantic City, off 2.5% to $15.5 million, Harrah’s Resort, down 7% to $25.5 million and Golden Nugget sliding 13% to $17 million. Gainers were Resorts Atlantic City, up 14% to $16 million and a tie with Ocean Resort, and Caesars Atlantic City, up 3% to $23 million. Citywide, slot revenues were 14% higher (down 8% on a same-store basis) while table game win was 20% up (down 7.5% same-store). Borgata saw 13.5% less table, a very unlucky month, while slot win slid 9% on 10% less coin-in. The Caesars Entertainment trio managed 4% more table win despite 11% less wagering.

Sports wagering continues to be an unequivocal success story in the Garden State. New Jersey sports books garnered $319 million in handle last month, putting them on pace to surpass Nevada in the very near future. “We knew that sports betting in New Jersey would be successful, but it is fair to say that so far it has exceeded our expectations. $3 billion in bets in 12 months is an impressive milestone by any measure, and in just a year, New Jersey is set up to become the nation’s largest legal sports betting market,” said PlayNJ.com analyst Dustin Gouker. Garden State books kept $15.5 million in revenue, down from April. Of the massive handle, 82.5% was generated online, overwhelmingly dominated (87%) by DraftKings/Resorts Digital and FanDuel/PointsBet. FanDuel at The Meadowlands led the walk-up market ($796,469), followed by Monmouth Park‘s $761,316. Resorts A.C. and Ocean Resort were revenue-negative for the month, suggesting that they might need some better oddsmakers.

* Compared to Atlantic City, Pennsylvania slots managed more modest growth, up 3%. A significant gainer was Valley Forge Casino Resort, 11.5% higher ($9 million), as was Rivers Casino, jumping 13% to $25.5 million. Parx Casino led the state with $37 million (+4%), followed by The Meadows ($19 million, 7.5%) and Hollywood Casino ($18 million, 1%). Both Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs and Harrah’s Philadelphia recorded $17 million, the former down 2%, the latter slipping 1.5%. The first month of Wind Creek Bethlehem saw a 3% downturn, to a still-robust $26 million. (Even luckless Lady Luck Nemacolin was lucky for a change, rising 7% to $2.5 million.) SugarHouse was flat at $15.5 million, Presque Isle Downs gained 4% to $10 million and Mount Airy slipped 1% to $12.5 million.

* Detroit was flat last month, with Greektown Casino, newest trophy on Penn National Gaming‘s mantel, up 2.5% grossing $26 million. MotorCity was flat on a $41 million gross and MGM Grand Detroit was also comparatively stagnant at $54.5 million. Penn would like to be so flat, we’re sure.

* Congratulations to workers at Sunset Station. 83% of them voted to unionize under the Culinary Union banner. We’re expecting Station Casinos to contest the plebiscite but it’s still a big step in the right direction.