Hot in August

Regional casinos were the big story last month, with four crucial jurisdictions all posting gains. (So, too, did Iowa but we rarely cover it in S&G because so few of the innumerable casinos make major amounts of revenue.) Maryland hopped 6.5% with MGM National Harbor leading the pack at $58 million, a 10% gain. The property’s revenue-per-day continues to grow sequentially, getting tantalizingly close to $2 million/day. On the plus side, it has 40% market share in the Free State. On the downside, the mix of revenue is tilting more and more toward (insanely taxed) slots, which wasn’t in MGM’s plans and I’ll bet even Bill Hornbuckle would tell you that.

Second in the state, with 32% market share, was Maryland Live, which grossed $47 million, up 5%. Whoever thought it would give National Harbor a run for its money? By contrast, Horseshoe Baltimore looks like a failure, down 4% to $21 million and lagging badly in market share. Hollywood Perryville, red-headed stepchild of Penn National Gaming, had a good month, surging 5% to $6.5 million, while Ocean Downs leapt 19% to $8 million. Out west, Rocky Gap Resort gained 5% for a $5 million gross. West Virginia casinos continue to perform sluggishly, down a percentage point mainly due to weak performance at the tables.

Casinos in Ohio grossed $158 million, up 8%, a variance that can’t simply be written off as one extra weekend day. Hollywood Toledo made $17 million, up 3.5%, while Hollywood Columbus was flat at $18.5 million. Hollywood Dayton made $9 million for a 10% gain. Hollywood Mahoning Valley vaulted 13.5% to $10 million. Belterra Park continues to gain ground, up 6% to $7 million, while Scioto Downs jumped 10% to land at $15 million. Hard Rock Rocksino, no surprise was tops at $21.5 million, a 5.5% gain. One takes comfort in knowing that MGM Growth Properties intends to allow Hard Rock International to keep running the property indefinitely.

Dan Gilbert picked a good time to put his casinos on the market — and, by the way, my prediction that he would never build the permanent casino in Cleveland has now been fulfilled. Speaking of the city on the Cuyahoga River, revenue at Jack Cleveland was up 3.5% to $17.5 million and Jack Thistledown was 14% higher at $11 million. Jack Cincinnati pole-vaulted 15% to $18 million. It couldn’t have worked out better for Gilbert if he’d scripted it.

Indiana casinos were up 5% last month, Despite a 2.5% decline, Horseshoe Hammond led the state with $32,5 million. Indiana Downs edged past two competitors for second place with $21 million (+6.5%). Horseshoe Southern Indiana was flat at $20.5 million and Ameristar East Chicago grossed $20 million for an impressive 19% gain. Blue Chip was flat at $13.5 million, a small victory for Boyd Gaming, if not a defeat for Four Winds Casino. The two Majestic Star boats grossed $7.5 million (up 5%) and $5 million (down 2.5%) respectively. I blame Donald Trump‘s bad casino karma for the perennial misfortunes of Majestic Star II (formerly a Trump property).

Tropicana Evansville rose 20% to gross $13 million, Hollywood Lawrenceburg made $14.5 million, up 1%. Belterra catapulted 16% to $11 million while French Lick Resort rose 6% to $8 million. Hoosier Downs (now with 100% more Caesars Entertainment) leapt 8% to $15.5 million, while long-suffering Rising Sun grossed a measly $4 million, a 2.5% increase.

Thanks to the plague of locusts known as slot routes, Illinois casinos were only 2.5% up last month, led by Rivers Casino with $38 million, a 10% gain. Boyd and Penn National are the only casino operators in the state to own slot routes but that didn’t prevent them from being off 7% and 2%, respectively. In the St. Louis market, Casino Queen was flat at $8 million and Argosy Belle took in $4 million, a 1% uptick. In miscellaneous markets, Harrah’s Metropolis gained 3.5% to $6.5 million, while Jumer’s Casino Rock Island ceded 7% to $6.5 million.

Other than Rivers Casino, Harrah’s Joliet was the only northern-tier casino to report good news, up 5% to $16 million. Empress Joliet was down 5.5% to $1o million, Hollywood Aurora was flat at $10 million and Grand Victoria slipped 2% to $14 million.

Missouri was up 6% to $151 million. While we wait to see if Gaming & Leisure Properties is forced to divest itself of any of St. Louis-area properties (which we think unlikely since a REIT is so greatly different from an operator), Tropicana Entertainment could do a victory lap over a 13% gain at Lumiere Place, notching $14 million. Ameristar St. Charles jumped 11.5% to $24 million, tops in the area, while Hollywood St. Louis gained 3% to gross $20.5 million and River City was up 2.5% to $19 million.

Over in Kansas City, things were less rosy. Harrah’s North Kansas City slumped 6% to $14.5 million and Isle of Capri Kansas City was also down 6%, landing at $5 million. Ameristar Kansas City gained a whopping 16% for an $18 million score while Argosy Riverside rose 7.5% to $14 million. Outstate, all casinos — included those owned by Affinity Gaming and Eldorado Resorts — were revenue-positive, with independent St. Jo Frontier up 12.5%. That’s a lot more than ‘one extra weekend day,’ folks.