Illinois limps, Ohio races; Flying the friendly skies with Hard Rock

First, the good news. Illinois gaming revenues held steady from April to May. However … they lagged May 2019 by 9.5%, for a gross of $107 million. The shining exception, as ever, was Rivers Casino Des Plaines, which cornered 39% of the market, up 5% to $41.5 million. One has to commend Churchill Downs for making such a strategic acquisition—and wonder what was going through Neil Bluhm‘s mind when he sold this gold mine. Grand Victoria did respectably, down 2% to $13 million, while Harrah’s Joliet ceded 24% to $11.5 million. Hollywood Aurora slipped 13% to $9 million and Empress Joliet tumbled 26% to $8 million. Par-A-Dice slipped 14% to $6 million and Jumer’s Casino Rock Island proved yet again to be an El Stinko investment for Bally’s Corp., toppling 38% to $4 million.

Further south, Argosy Belle‘s $3 million was actually a spectacular, 166.5% improvement on its 2019 performance. DraftKings at Casino Queen slid 29% to $6.5 million (maybe the oncoming sports book will help) while Harrah’s Metropolis shed 20% to $5 million. Illinois politicians think they can continue to force more golden eggs from the casino goose but with slot routes continuing to expand aggressively, the outlook for all but a few Land of Lincoln casinos is bleak, we’re afraid.

Ohio was an entirely different story. Buckeye Staters had money to burn and they incinerated it. The $209 million gross was a 23.5% improvement on May 2019, even if the pace of gambling slackened a wee bit from April. The lifting of mask mandates and capacity limits obviously didn’t hurt a bit. As normality returns to Detroit, no longer does Hollywood Toledo hold the top spot. Instead it reverted to slots-only MGM Northfield Park ($25 million), up $23.5 million. Of the four full-service casinos, Hollywood Columbus fared best, winning $23 million in a 22% jump. Jack Cleveland was next with $22.5 million (+25%), while Hollywood Toledo came next with $21.5 million (+22%). Even hard-luck Hard Rock Cincinnati had a good month, grossing $20 million and nudging up 4.5%.

At the racinos business was generally even better. Scioto Downs leapt 27.5% to $21 million, Jack Thistledown rocketed 51% higher to $19 million and Miami Valley Gaming gained 26% to $20 million. Belterra Park was the poor relation of the group, notching just $9 million, a 13% upsurge, while Hollywood Dayton vaulted 44% to $14 million and Hollywood Mahoning Valley climbed 25% to $14 million. We think those numbers speak for themselves.

It’s not exactly the return of the Trump Shuttle, but Hard Rock Atlantic City is going to start flying in high-rollers, starting July 16. They’ll be traveling in style aboard a 30-seat Dornier 328. The initial round of targeted markets is Baltimore (which has a casino at which nobody plays), Cincinnati (putting Hard Rock in competition with itself), Scranton, White Plains, Norfolk, Portsmouth and such famous VIP hangouts as Latrobe and Farmingdale. Hard Rock CEO Jim Allen, who once readily ceded the top spot in Atlantic City to Borgata to this reporter, appears to be upping his game even further now that the MGM Resorts International property looks vulnerable.

Nothing says ‘going to the mall’ like visiting a slot parlor. That’s what Resorts World hopes New Yorkers will do when it opens a VLT joint in a shopping center in Newburgh. The 1,300-slot facility has been approved by the city and $32 million Resorts World Hudson Valley hopes to be in business by March of next year. It’s a bit of a comedown for the tony Resorts World brand but Newburgh is happy: It gets $3 million a year to cover any additional policing costs or other side effects. Genting Group is projecting $160 million in annual gaming revenue, which seems a tad optimistic, given the history of upstate casinos, especially one without table games. The Newburgh mall is unquestionably an improvement on Genting’s first site choice: an abandoned chemical plant. Ick!

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) is a flimsy reed that bends in the slightest breeze, which hopefully means he will see reason with regard to the bill the Lege has sent him giving much-needed tax relief to Atlantic City‘s casinos (the one area of concern for Caesars Entertainment). Tax reductions would be in direct proportion to revenue declines, which should help the Boardwalk’s least-competitive casinos the most. Murphy, like the jellyfish that he is, is vacillating on the stimulus bill. Still, with state Sens. Stephen Sweeney (D) and Chris Brown (R) behind it, the legislation has bipartisan heft. It’s not like the casinos are just getting free money: Infrastructure contributions will be taxed and i-gaming revenue will be levied at a higher rate. At least free play will be non-taxable if kept to less than $90 million per casino per year. (Let the comps commence!) Hey, Phil, do the right thing for once.