Illinois up, Maryland flat, Palms sued

Enjoy it while it lasts, Illinois. Gaming revenues shot up 8%, a welcome bit of good news. One extra weekend day surely helped although we find it hard to believe that entirely accounts for the variance. The overall gross was $116 million, with Eldorado Resorts having a rare good month at Grand Victoria, flat at $13 million. Rivers Casino Des Plaines far outdistanced the state average, with $40 million, an 18% pole vault. The closest competition came from Harrah’s Joliet, down 2% but still grossing $14 million. Empress Joliet gained 7% to $10 million while Hollywood Aurora was up 4% to $10 million.

Mid-state Jumer’s Casino Rock Island gained 8% to $5 million while Par-A-Dice was flat at $6 million. In the St. Louis area, Casino Queen jumped 20.5% to $8.5 million while Argosy Belle lost 7% to $3 million. Harrah’s Metropolis was up 5% to $6 million. We’ll have to see how these numbers hold up in a year, when cities like Waukegan start to open temporary casinos.

* Maryland gaming revenues were flat again, with MGM National Harbor dipping 6% to $54 million last month. Slots at the casino were up 4% but table-game win dove 18%. MGM also lost a bit of market share to Maryland Live, which now has 37.5% to MGM’s 38%. Overall, casinos in Maryland grossed $141 million. Maryland Live raked in $53 million, up 9%, while Horseshoe Baltimore slipped 6% to $18.5 million. Ocean Downs climbed 4% to $5.5 million and Hollywood Perryville was up 6% to $6 million. Rocky Gap Casino leapt 11% to $4.5 million. Over in West Virginia, there was an 8% decline, lead by a 9% slot falloff. Charles Town Races was down 9% overall, with slots dropping off 10% and table games down 7%, giving it a worse-than-average month.

* Another day, another Palms lawsuit. DJ Kaskade (born Ryan Gary Raddon) is suing Station Casinos over the KAOS closure—the club was hemorrhaging money. Kaskade wants Station to fulfill his contract by paying him for seven scratched dates in November and December (including New Year’s Eve), saying the cancellations left him without a venue in which to perform. Station already paid him for three unfulfilled dates in October. Part of the reason for KAOS’ failure surely has to do with Station going way overboard in its design. Imagine the cost of “multiple pools and levels, a rotating DJ booth, an additional stage, the city’s largest LEX wall, and a 6-story sculpture by British artist Damien Hirst.” The Palms has been underperforming since its hyper-expensive remodeling and shedding the costs associated with KAOS is one move toward ending this revenue-negative era.

* Price-fixing by radio stations? Surely you jest! Next thing, you’ll be telling me there was a payola scandal back in the Fifties.

Jottings: Props to FanDuel, which refueled all pregame bets on Tilman Fertitta‘s Houston Rockets after the team lost in double-overtime. A blown call by a zebra motivated the refund … Get in touch with your inner Hansel and Gretel by visiting Aria‘s life-size gingerbread house. No munching allowed … Danville, Virginia, is shopping for casino developers. Judging by the ugly hulk of a building they’re offering they won’t get many takers … You’d think Phil Ruffin would want to talk up a glorious future for Circus Circus when seeking its license from the Nevada Gaming Commission but he was chary with details.