{"id":19257,"date":"2017-01-10T13:32:03","date_gmt":"2017-01-10T21:32:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/?p=19257"},"modified":"2017-01-10T13:32:03","modified_gmt":"2017-01-10T21:32:03","slug":"a-slight-chill-in-the-air","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/a-slight-chill-in-the-air\/","title":{"rendered":"A slight chill in the air"},"content":{"rendered":"

Even allowing for additional weekend in 2016, gaming results last month were a tad frosty, \u00a0shall we say? The best market was Missouri<\/strong>, which was merely flat. That was \"Lumiere-252\"largely due to strength in the St. Louis<\/strong> area, where Pinnacle Entertainment<\/strong>‘s River City<\/strong> was up 4%, to $19 million. Ameristar St. Charles<\/strong> was less fortunate, grossing $22 million but down 5.5%. The latter lost market share to Penn National Gaming<\/strong>\/GLPI<\/strong>‘s Hollywood St. Louis<\/strong>, up 6% to $19 million. Tropicana Entertainment<\/strong> had a good month at Lumiere Place<\/strong> (right), up 5% to $12 million. The brightest light in Kansas City<\/strong> was Ameristar Kansas City<\/strong>, down 1% to $16.5 million. Runner-up Harrah’s North Kansas<\/strong> City was down 9%, to $14.5 million. Penn\/GLPI’s Argosy Riverside<\/strong> grossed $12.5 million, a 3% slippage. Isle of Capri Kansas City<\/strong> balanced a $6 million gross with a 6% falloff.<\/p>\n

Modulations in most of the outlying markets were relatively insignificant, save for a 9% drop at Affinity Gaming<\/strong>‘s Mark Twain Casino<\/strong> ($3 million) and a 7% dip — to $6 million — at Isle of Capri Boonsville<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Gamblers were neither more flush or luckier in Ohio<\/strong>, where gaming revenues were 3% off the pace. We don’t have win\/slot\/day numbers (which only Penn releases) but can vouch for the effects of road construction have been felt, with an 11% plunge and $15 gross. \"ToledoHollywood Columbus<\/strong>, by comparison, was up a bit, 1% higher on an $18 million gross. Hollywood Dayton<\/strong> was up 1%, to nearly $8 million, while Hollywood Austintown<\/strong> continued to be a little powerhouse, up 3% on an $8 million gross.<\/p>\n

Pinnacle’s Belterra Park<\/strong> investment is finally paying off, up 10% to $7 million. Eldorado Resorts<\/strong> was not so fortunate at Scioto Downs<\/strong>, falling 6% to $12 million. Hard Rock Rocksino<\/strong> suffered an uncharacteristic 5% lag, coming in at $18 million. That made Hollywood Columbus incrementally #1 in the state, while most of Dan Gilbert<\/strong>‘s properties struggle with the “Jack” brand. True, it was good for Thistledown Racing<\/strong>, up 12% to almost $10 million. But Jack Cleveland<\/strong> fell 12%, to $16.5 million and Jack Cincinnati<\/strong> slid almost 8% to $16 million. Sorry about that, Jack.<\/p>\n

Gamblers in Indiana<\/strong> spent 5% more but turned out in 10% fewer numbers, translating into a revenue decline in excess of 5%. It should be noted that, even with one less weekend \"bluechip_exterior\"in December 2015, the Hoosier State grossed more. Chicagoland<\/strong> was chilly this year, down 8%. If that’s what happens in ostensibly good times, what does it portend if and when the Pokagon Band<\/strong> opens its casino — planned to be the state’s largest — in South Bend<\/strong>? Both Horseshoe Hammond<\/strong> ($32 million, -13%) and Ameristar East Chicago<\/strong> ($18 million, 12%) were hard-hit, as was Majestic Star II<\/strong> ($4.5 million, -16%), although Majestic Star I<\/strong> came off relatively unscathed ($7 million, -2%). Tribally besieged Blue Chip Casino<\/strong> dropped 12% to $12 million.<\/p>\n

Fortunes were more stable at the southern end of the Hoosier State, with Horseshoe Southern Indiana<\/strong> slipping 3% but grossing $21 million. Hollywood Lawrenceburg<\/strong> slipped 5%, to $14 million. Tropicana Evansville<\/strong> was flat, despite construction disruption, grossing $11 million. Full House Resorts<\/strong> had a good month at Rising Sun<\/strong>, up 2.5% to $4.5 million, although the gaming inventory is reported to be far in excess of what foot traffic warrants. Elsewhere in the state, French Lick Resort<\/strong> gained 5%, for almost $8 million, while the racinos underperformed — flat at Indiana Downs<\/strong> (a still-impressive $21.5 million) and a 3% dip to $16 million at Hoosier Park<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

If this caution in the Midwest regional markets trickles down, it won’t bode well for the next set or two of monthly number from Las Vegas<\/strong>. If people are loath to gamble where it is right at their finger trips, are they going to travel to do it? People automatically assume a Donald Trump<\/strong> administration is going to mean a boom for casinos but a long view is clearly in order.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Even allowing for additional weekend in 2016, gaming results last month were a tad frosty, \u00a0shall we say? The best market was Missouri, which was merely flat. That was largely due to strength in the St. Louis area, where Pinnacle … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[173,40,60,14,199,198,190,7,68,85,191,39,207,71,69,30,111,19,21],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19257"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19257"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19257\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19258,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19257\/revisions\/19258"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19257"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19257"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19257"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}