Illinois slouches; Boyd, Churchill praised; DraftKings assessed
Not even Rivers Casino Des Plaines was spared the impact of Hard Rock Rockford, as the newbie helped take a 4.5% bite out of Rivers’ December casino revenues compared to 2019, for a Des Plaines gross of $43 million, still easily the best in the state. Prairie State casinos grossed $110 million, down 12% from two years ago. Without the Hard Rock infusion, those numbers would have been worse still (-15%). The latter brought in $4 million, as did Bally’s Quad Cities (-25%), while Argosy Belle clung jealously to last place with $2.5 million (-35.5%). Other than Rivers, Grand Victoria suffered less than most, down 8% to $13 million. Business was not so kind to its sister properties, with Harrah’s Joliet off 27% to $11 million and Harrah’s Metropolis down 22% to $5 million.
Penn National Gaming wasn’t much more fortunate upstate than in Alton. Its Empress Joliet plunged 26% to $7 million and Hollywood Aurora slipped 13.5% to $9 million. Boyd Gaming‘s mid-state Par-A-Dice was down 14% to $5 million and DraftKings Casino Queen plummeted 30.5% to $6 million. God help ’em when the wave of temporary casinos fully comes online—let alone if the Lege legalizes i-gaming. Perhaps the winningest operator in the Land of Lincoln is MGM Resorts International, which had the good sense to get the hell out.
plummeted 11% in September. Boyd casinos got the worst of it, down 10.5%. New Orleans was flat but Lake Charles took a bashing, plunging 18%. Baton Rouge‘s mere 3.5% decline looks like a triumph. Golden Nugget slid 23.5% to $21 million, as L’Auberge du Lac squeaked past with $22 million, down 10%. Isle Grand Palais shed 15% ($7 million gross) and Delta Downs was 21% off the pace with $12 million. L’Auberge Baton Rouge actually gained 5%, clocking in with $12 million, while Casino Rouge dropped 9% to $4 million. That was far better than Belle of Baton Rouge, a sorry $2 million and 29% freefall.
walloped, down 19%. Still, MGM commands 40% of market share in the Free State, followed by Maryland Live with 34%. The latter slipped but 2%, to $49 million. Horseshoe Baltimore got lapped, fading 18% to $19 million. Ocean Downs‘ luck finally ran out, as a string of revenue-positive months gave way to a 5% stumble and $7 million. Hollywood Perryville was off 4% to $6.5 million. Over in West Virginia, revenue was down 2% despite 5% higher winnings at the tables. Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races didn’t have good luck at the tables, down 9%, leading to a 5% overall decline.
driven by high-tax slots (up 11%), not low-tax table games (down 4%). National Harbor was dominant in market share, with 38.5%, compared to Maryland Live‘s 34% and Horseshoe Baltimore‘s 16%. Maryland Live gambling win vaulted 19%, to $56 million, while the ‘Shoe did $25.5 million (+3%). Ocean Downs jumped 12.5% to $6.5 million, while Hollywood Perryville was flat at $7 million. Out in the boonies, Rocky Gap Resort gained 9% to $5 million. Next door, West Virginia had 
Gaming had a good result at River City, up 3% ($17.5 million), offset by declines at Hollywood St. Louis ($18.5 million, -1%) and Argosy Riverside ($12.5 million, -9.5%). Boyd Gaming gained 2% at Ameristar St. Charles ($21 million) but yielded 2% at Ameristar Kansas City ($12.5 million). Eldorado Resorts had a really bad month at Lumiere Place, down 12% to $12 million. Harrah’s North Kansas City slipped 5%, finishing at $12 million. Affinity Gaming also had some adversity at Mark Twain Casino, down 7.5% to $2.5 million.
cantered past it to a $21 million finish, gaining 4.5%. Hoosier Park surged 12.5% to $16 million. Biggest gainer of all was French Lick Resort, up 14.5% to $9 million. Tropicana Evansville and Hollywood Lawrenceburg were flat, for $13 million and $15.5 million respectively. Rising Sun set 2%, to $4 million, while Boyd Gaming was pushing the right buttons at Belterra, up 5% to $10 million. In the northern tier of the Hoosier State, Horseshoe Hammond was becalmed but still pulled in $32 million. Primary rival Ameristar East Chicago gained 10% on the competition to finish at $19.5 million. Blue Chip continues to rebound from tribal competition at Four Winds Casino. For December it was up 7.5% to $13 million. As for the two Majestic Star boats, the first lost 
store basis (i.e., minus Hard Rock Atlantic City and Ocean Resort) while table game win was up 16% but down 10.5% same-store. Borgata ($51 million) fell 8% despite 12.5% higher table win on 11% lower wagering. The decline was driven by a 15.5% tailspin in slot win. The Caesars Entertainment portfolio tumbled 20%, with table win plummeting 30% on 18.5% less wagering — i.e., the house lost — while slot win toppled 15%. Nonetheless, Caesars gave the market a vote of confidence by announcing 
Isle of Capri Kansas City ($5 million). Boyd Gaming had an inauspicious start to its return to the Show-Me State, down 1% at both Ameristar Kansas City ($15 million) and Ameristar St. Charles ($21 million). Eldorado’s outstate properties delivered a very mixed performance with Lady Luck Caruthersville 1.5% down ($3 million), Isle of Capri Boonsville up 1.5% ($6 million) and Isle of Capri Cape Girardeau down 4.5% ($5 million). Penn National Gaming was absolutely flat — $18 million — at Hollywood Casino St. Louis but up 5% in Kansas City, where it grossed $14 million. Harrah’s North Kansas City did almost $15 million in business, a 2% gain. One of Penn’s new trophies, River City, dove 6%, to $17 million, while Affinity Gaming‘s Mark Twain Casino was down 1% to $2.5 million.
to make the half-hour run, compared to the hour it takes to ferry to the gambling capitol from Hong Kong. Ironically, the ceremonial first bus will leave from Macao, specifically from Hotel Grand Lisboa, in a nod to former casino monopolist Sociedade de Jogos de Macau. Peninsula casinos to enjoy bus service include MGM Macau, StarWorld Hotel (Galaxy Entertainment) and Sands Macao. Primary stops on the Cotai Strip™ will be Venetian Macao, Galaxy Macau and MGM Cotai, which could use some extra business. Casino shuttles will not be allowed on the new bridge. Rather, city hall is trying to get the enclave’s six concessionaires to consolidate and cooperatively run shuttle serves. Good luck with that.
CEO Mark Frissora would want to get back in. Last month, gross gaming revenues were $152 million, a 4% increase, powered by an 8% improvement at the racinos. (Casino business was static.) Penn National Gaming‘s Hollywood Toledo was flat at $16 million, while Hollywood Columbus slid 5% to $17.5 million. But Hollywood Dayton was up 2.5% to $8.5 million and Hollywood Mahoning Valley jumped 5.5% to $10 million.
weakness was “a blip … driven by a ‘perfect storm’ of: (1) Very tough comps from two ‘supercharged’ Summers in 2016 and 17, (2) Much higher mix of Leisure and price sensitive [online travel agency] customers, (3) Mid-week July 4 holiday, and (4) Continued impact of October 1.” He also notes “continued rate pressure at the lower end of the market, especially from lower rates at Park MGM and continued weakness in the vicinity of Mandalay Bay.”
(Subscription required.) As for what Las Vegas looks like in same, well, Lego 
City market had the worst of it, off nearly 4%. Slot revenues ($128.5 million) were down 2% and table games ($22 million) fell 4%. Don’t tell that to Ameristar Kansas City, which was up 8%, to $17.5 million. Harrah’s Kansas City had a terrible month, plunging 12% to $15 million. Argosy Riverside slid 5.5% to $13.5 million while Isle of Capri Kansas City was 6.5% underwater, grossing $6 million.
Penn got itself quite a bargain. It’s also a vote of confidence in the Shreveport/Bossier City market when you consider that Penn will own Boomtown Bossier when its acquisition of Pinnacle Entertainment closes. Margaritaville has grossed $157 million year to date, an 8% increase from early 2017. It’s a curious hybrid of a deal, as the physical assets will be owned by Vici Properties, the REIT of Penn’s archrival Caesars Entertainment, the market leader in the greater Shreveport area. Vici paid $261 million for the riverboat and casino, which it will lease at $23 million a year.
(+10.5%). Slot handle was down 3.5%, as was revenue, while a tiny increase in table wagering produced 12.5% more winnings for the casinos. Borgata stumbled, down 9% to $53 million, although all Atlantic City casinos would like to trip so badly. The culprit was a 39% plunge in table winnings ($9.5 million), while slot revenue grew 2% to $42 million. It had the second-best share of Internet-gambling revenue — 20% — although well behind Golden Nugget‘s 35% share.
between Fonfa and his creditors as to what the boutique casino is worth. He says $143 million, they say $60 million or thereabouts. Fonfa hopes to sell the Lucky Dragon via a foreclosure court auction, although such a turnover has been postponed at least once. Fonfa’s explanation of the widely varying valuations was a cryptic, “It doesn’t take a genius to figure that out.” Snow Covered Capital is exposed to the extent of $50 million in loans to Lucky Dragon and a $60 million sale price would cover its nakedness nicely.