Margaritaville continued beating the pants off Horseshoe Bossier City, grossing $15 million for a 7% gain. Horseshoe won $13 million, down 8.5%. Nobody else came close. Harrah’s Louisiana Downs—a candidate for divestiture—grossed $4 million, still a 1.5% uptick. Eldorado Shreveport plunged 41% to $5.5 million, Boomtown Bossier slipped 2.5% to $4 million and Sam’s Town tumbled 34.5% to $4 million. Dame Fortune may be smiling on Louisiana but she’s not exactly spreading the wealth.
Casinos in Pennsylvania reopened June 9 but only eked out $74 million. (Rivers Casino Philadelphia stayed closed.) Slots plunged 69% to $62.5 million while tables spiraled 83% downward to $12 million. Gambling houses operated with 36% fewer slots but only 3% table-game positions. Win/slot/day was an anemic $130. Boyd’s unlucky streak persisted, as Valley Forge Resort plunged 79% to $2 million. Caesars Entertainment didn’t do much better at Chester Downs, falling 74% to $5.5 million. Lady Luck Nemacolin, unthinkably, did as much revenue as Valley Forge, off only 11%. Pittsburgh was the headline, with Rivers Casino winning $20 million, off 34% but tops in the Keystone State. Traditional leader Parx Casino fell off the cliff (-93%), grossing only $3.5 million. Wind Creek Bethlehem, sucking wind, did as badly, with $3 million for -92.5%. Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs grossed $6.5 million, -65%, while The Meadows raked in $13 million, -36.5%. Mount Airy fell 57.5% to $7 million and Hollywood Casino at Penn National dipped 54.5% to $9 million.
The salvation of Pennsylvania was sports betting, which generated $89 million in handle. Almost all of that was online, with FanDuel at Valley Forge handling $33 million in wagers while retail betting was negligible. “The disruption in sports betting is something no one could have seen coming, but even with it, the industry is leaps and bounds ahead of where it was last year,” said analyst Valerie Cross. New Internet casinos were also a hit, grossing $50 million, not as good as May but still robust. Despite being dark, Rivers Philadelphia made $15 million online while Mount Airy, enjoying a monopoly on i-poker, raked in $3 million.
In Las Vegas, what happens here sure as hell doesn’t stay here—especially if it’s Covid-19. USA Today reports that at least 123 tourists have tested positive for Coronavirus after visiting Sin City. “The cases jumped in the weeks after Nevada’s casinos reopened on June 4 after being shuttered for nearly three months.” At the time, Gov. Steve Sisolak (D) said, “We’re encouraging visitors to come and enjoy themselves and have a good time.” We don’t think the unlucky (or possibly careless) 123 are having much fun at the moment, a 14-day quarantine being the best-case scenario. Californians make up the plurality of both the victims and of Vegas visitors (46%), although some cases range as far afield as Brazil. This just isn’t the time to be visiting Nevada, despite its historical, artistic and natural wonders. With 31,915 confirmed cases and a record-setting 1,447 daily new cases on the 15th, it seems time to think the unthinkable and ponder a shutdown of the casino industry.
Sisolak’s hand might be forced by, of all unlikely people, Donald Trump. The White House has declared Clark County a “red zone,” banning gatherings of more than 10 people and recommending closure of gyms. If you thought Sisolak was strict, you should see what the federal guvmint is recommending. Casinos are living on borrowed time.
