Indiana, Missouri keep rebounding; Casino boom benefits all

Scratch two casino riverboats in Indiana. The Majestic Star-branded flotilla went out of business—and Hard Rock Gary came in, quite auspiciously. Total Hoosier State gaming revenue for last month grew 18% over 2019 to $185.5 million. Hard Rock Gary opened mid-month but booked $20.5 million in a fortnight, good enough for third in the northern tier of casinos. Give it a full month and we’ll really see something. Horseshoe Hammond, still on the selling block, led with $38 million (+22%), followed by Ameristar East Chicago‘s $26.5 million (+34%). Blue Chip missed out on the prosperity, down 6% to $12.5 million.

Elsewhere in the state, Indiana Grand was tops with $30 million (+32.5%), while Harrah’s Hoosier Downs grossed $21 million (+29%) and soon-to-be-orphaned Caesars Southern Indiana brought in $22 million, a 12% gain. French Lick Resort was down 19% to $6.5 million. Also suffering declines were fellow small fry Rising Star ($4.5 million, -1%) and Belterra Resort ($8.5 million, -7,5%). In its last month as a Caesars Entertainment property, Tropicana Evansville was up 6% to $13.5 million. Hollywood Lawrenceburg was flat at $14.5 million.

In Missouri, gaming revenues hopped 14% above 2019 levels to $173 million, led by Ameristar St. Charles with $27 million (+14%), continuing to drub adjacent Hollywood St. Louis ($20 million, -3.5%). Caesars made $15.5 million at Lumiere Place, up 9% and a real success story for the Roman Empire. Penn National Gaming, meanwhile, had better fortune at River City, jumping 16.5% to $21 million. New management did quite the trick for the former Isle of Capri Kansas City, vaulting 40% to $10 million, while Harrah’s North Kansas City suffered a mild setback, down 2% to $17 million. Ameristar Kansas City led the market with $19.5 million, a 14.5% gain, while Argosy Riverside brought Penn $15.5 million, up 6.5% Outstate, the dollar leaders were Isle of Capri Boonville ($8.5 million, +25%) and Century Caruthersville ($7 million, +35%), although all the rural casinos fared pretty spectacularly.

Michigan sports-betting and i-gaming revenues headed in opposite directions last month, with the latter flirting with the $100 million mark. Internet casinos grossed $95 million and came up a hair shy of the $100 million mark in cumulative taxes, money that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) wants to earmark for infrastructural improvements. Sports betting hasn’t been nearly so good to Whitmer: just a piddling $5 million in taxes so far. Online-casino leaders were BetMGM ($36 million) and FanDuel/MotorCity ($16 million). Observed PlayUSA analyst Jessica Welman, “Revenue has remained high, even as retail casinos around Detroit have become more accessible. Looking ahead, the popularity of these games should remain—and likely expand—over the next few months, even as retail casinos’ operations continue to steady.”

Speaking of Detroit, its major-league sports teams stank last month, which further depressed sports wagering as it goes into a pre-football lull. “A lack of success from Detroit teams naturally saps interest, and Michigan is facing too many short-term factors to overcome completely,” said analyst Matt Schoch. FanDuel/MotorCity fared best with $71 million in handle and $9 million in revenue, followed by DraftKings/Bay Mills Indian Community‘s $67 million handle (but only $2 million revenue) and BetMGM/MGM Grand Detroit‘s $51.5 million handle and $5 million revenue. Much further back were Barstool Sports/Greektown Casino ($18 million/$1 million), PointsBet/Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians ($11.5 million/$1 million) and seven other players, none of whom collected more than $1 million in revenue—didn’t come close, in fact. It’s a dark day in Michigan when the Detroit Lions are your hope of rescue.

Are casino workers really that hard to find? Scarlet Pearl Casino in Mississippi is just one property reporting “overwhelming” response to help-wanted ads. Boyd Gaming had “overflow” turnout for a recent job fair (which bodes well for the near future of Main Street Station and Eastside Cannery, by the way.) Even so, many casinos are offering signing bonuses and subsidized training, among other enticements. The invisible hand of the free market is good right now both for casinos’ grosses and for employees’ bargaining power. After all, it’s difficult for management to play hardball when they’re seeing record revenues even without workforces at full strength. As one Rivers Casino Pittsburgh exec insightfully noted, “some people can’t wait six weeks to go through training and not get paid.” The cumulative result is certain to be a lift in average casino-worker pay, which stood at $13.01/hour last year. “Casinos have been able to cut costs substantially through the pandemic across a variety of departments, so incremental labor cost increases should be absorbed in a manner that’s not too financially impactful,” Fitch Group Senior Director Colin Mansfield told reporter Rege Behe.

Said one exec of the rising tide that’s lifting his employees’ boats, “They’ve been able to eliminate having to carry two jobs because of the wage increases that we’ve given out in certain positions. They’ve come up to us and thanked us because they don’t have to go to that second job two or three days a week anymore because of the increases that they’ve received.” Meanwhile, sulking in a corner is Tilman Fertitta, who went on CNBC to complain that his ex-employees had the effrontery and to dine in his restaurants and gamble in his casinos without asking for their jobs back. Hmmmm. Maybe, Tilman, they just don’t want to work for you anymore.

And now to the police blotter. Sharon Whaley and boyfriend Frankie Lane checked into Hard Rock Atlantic City. Only one checked out. The alleged murderer is still at large and the tragedy will not improve Atlantic City‘s D-grade for crime in the streets (and suites). In Las Vegas, an attempted robbery outside The Orleans ended in the stabbing of the victim (he survived, thankfully) and the disappearance of his assailant. Police are responding to a heightened level of crime in Sin City with successive waves of stepped-up policing, which has at least succeeded in getting a gold-plated Kalashnikov off the streets, so that’s something. In between the coasts, a Wisconsin man is looking at 100 years in prison after allegedly putting a beatdown on another man outside a Ho-Chunk tribal casino. The seven-time felon may find eight to be his unlucky number. This loser, Anthony James Wilson, compounded his mistake by attempting to outrace cops in a Saturn Ion (not the getaway car of choice, apparently), then being found carrying a weapon—a huge no-no for a predicate felon. If the judge throws the book at Wilson, his best chance of beating the system is by living to the tender age of 128.

Jottings: The juiced-in Urban One casino in Richmond is headed for the Nov. 2 election ballot after the city council voted 8-1 in its favor. We’re sure george campaign contributions from casino allies had nothing to do with the decision … Gosh darn it all, we forgot to wish Donald Trump a happy birthday yesterday. He’s not the worst casino owner in history—not for lack of trying—but none flamed out half as spectacularly. By the way, YouTube is now censoring gaming ads and it seems we have Trump to thank for it, at least indirectly … Van Morrison plays the Coliseum at Caesars Palace next Feb. 18-20. Tickets nominally go on sale Friday at 1 p.m. Eastern time but Caesars Rewards members get access 24 hours earlier … Also coming to the Coliseum, a Rod Stewart residency. Stewart, who has clashed with Caesars Entertainment in the past (and won) will play an October 6-23 run of Rod Stewart: The Hits (nine performances sprinkled over 17 days). Tickets go on sale in staggered fashion, with fan-club members getting June 16 access (noon Vegas time), followed by Caesars Rewards members on June 18 (10 a.m.) and the general public on Saturday at 10 a.m. Vegas time, if there are any left … Macao needs a nuclear power plant leak like it needs a hole in the head. But that’s just what it got. The Chinese government says everything is normal, no worries, but you’ll pardon our skepticism … With Tribal Winds Casino in East Windsor firmly on the shelf, MGM Resorts International is abandoning its lawsuit against the project. We’re glad to see an end to this saga, one in which all concerned came to their senses.