Illinois‘ casino lobby hopes to stave off (potentially disastrous) expansion, currently working its way through the state house. Unfortunately, last month’s results didn’t give it 
much ammunition. Revenues were down only 1%, which in any other context would be relatively good news. Expansion proponents will point to it as evidence that the Illinois market has stabilized, shaken off the debilitating effects of slot routes and is ripe for more casinos — and racinos. Revenue in southern Illinois was actually up 2%, but softness in the northern tier of the state offset that gain.
Penn National Gaming‘s long-suffering Argosy Alton staged a 12% comeback and the newfangled version of Harrah’s Metropolis rose 6%. Against this, Gaming & Leisure Properties‘ Casino Queen continued to decline, off 3.5%. Mid-state, Boyd Gaming‘s Par-A-Dice failed to produce the stable revenues projected by J.P. Morgan analyst Joseph Greff, falling 8%. Upstate, Neil Bluhm‘s Rivers Casino generated 42% of the market’s revenues, while showing a 2% uptick. Business was soft at the two Penn casinos, with Hollywood Aurora down 4% and Empress Joliet off 5%, both undershooting Greff’s projections. At $17 million and -1%, Harrah’s Joliet gave one of the state’s strongest performances.
Deutsche Bank analyst Carlo Santarelli reckons that foot traffic was down 7% but customer spending was up 6%. He was more forgiving of the Penn numbers than was Greff. It should be noted that the total statewide gross was $126.5 million. Those lawmakers who think they can rake in $500 million-$1 billion more by adding four or five casinos and five racinos are, in the face of those numbers, clearly delusional.
* Wagering on fantasy sports could be legal in Kansas shortly. Legislation passed with overwhelming majorities in both houses has removed fantasy leagues from the penumbra of 
being an “illegal lottery,” reclassifying them as games of chance. Faced with such heavy approval in the Lege, Gov. Sam Brownback (R, left) hid under his desk, refusing to say whether he’d sign the bill or not. Vetoing isn’t much of an option, save as a symbolic gesture. There are no concrete plans to add fantasy sports to the Kansas Lottery. The motivation for the bill, according to Rep. Brett Hildabrand (R), was that “so many Kansans participate in this and we want to make sure that they’re operating on the right side of the law.” The new Kansas law would reduce to five the number of states in which fantasy leagues are illegal.
* If you want to play a Riviera slot machine or roulette wheel, head for The D or the Golden Gate. In a swift move, owner Derek Stevens bought the Riv’s gaming inventory (less leased machines like Wheel of Fortune) and will add roughly 350 slots to his installed base, cannibalizing others for parts and selling the bulk (approximately 500 machines) at auction. The Riv wasn’t even closed a full day before Stevens’ men were rolling the slots out of the joint, headed Downtown. “It was very straightforward. We wanted to increase our spare parts inventory and get some new equipment,” Stevens told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. If so, Stevens gets points for his opportunistic business sense.
* Speaking of Downtown, my interview with its number-one booster, Mayor Carolyn Goodman, finally gets the online treatment. I’ve met both Goodmans and would rate Carolyn the more impressive of the two. Sorry, Oscar.
