{"id":26072,"date":"2020-02-10T13:09:02","date_gmt":"2020-02-10T21:09:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/?p=26072"},"modified":"2020-02-10T13:09:02","modified_gmt":"2020-02-10T21:09:02","slug":"boom-in-the-rust-belt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/boom-in-the-rust-belt\/","title":{"rendered":"Boom in the Rust Belt"},"content":{"rendered":"

You’d be forgiven if you did a double take upon seeing the latest casino-revenue numbers out of the Midwest. Business is up\u2014to sometimes-unprecedented degrees. Take Ohio<\/strong>, for instance. It’s always a casino-\"\"friendly state … but a 19% upsurge in revenue? In January, no less? Well, I suppose people have to go somewhere<\/em> when it’s cold outside but the amount of discretionary dollars they have to spend is pretty impressive, especially when you consider that the out-of-season racinos did 20.5% better this year. Not even an extra weekend day (and there will be another in February) comes close to explaining it.<\/p>\n

The overall gross was $167.5 million. MGM Northfield Park<\/strong> held onto the top spot with $23 million (no table games, remember), a 17% increase. Closest was Hollywood Columbus<\/strong> with $20.5% million, up 18%, while Hollywood Toledo<\/strong> grossed $16 million, ‘only’ 10.5% higher. Jack Cleveland<\/strong> surpassed it with $18 million, a 17% gain, while Hard Rock Cincinnati<\/strong> jumped 22.5% to $19 million. Scioto Downs<\/strong> grossed $15.5 million for a 22% gain and Miami Valley Gaming<\/strong> also posted $15.5 million, a 24% surge. Jack Thistledown<\/strong>‘s $12 million was a 22% jump, while Belterra Park<\/strong> grossed $7 million, a 20% leap. Not to be left behind, Hollywood Dayton<\/strong>‘s $10 million was a 24% vault and Hollywood Mahoning Valley<\/strong> gained 17.5% to finish at $11 million.<\/p>\n

Next door in Indiana<\/strong> was scarcely less impressive, leaping 20% to $185 million. This was the first month of table games at Harrah’s Hoosier Park<\/strong> and Indiana Grand<\/strong>, which swelled the numbers somewhat, to the \"\"tune of $6.5 million. Subtracting tables, the two racinos were 9% and 9.5% higher, respectively. Throw in that table play and they boomed 34.5% and 32.5%, grossing $17 million and $24 million. Caesars Southern Indiana<\/strong> also continues to hit it off with players, catapulting 31% to $22 million. Southern-tier casinos that didn’t<\/em> do well were Rising Star<\/strong>, down 1.5% to $3 million, and French Lick Resort<\/strong>, up only 3% to $7 million. Everyone else prospered, with Belterra<\/strong> up 13% to $8 million, Tropicana Evansville<\/strong> gaining 12% to $12.5 million and Hollywood Casino Lawrenceburg<\/strong> jumping 16% to $14 million.<\/p>\n

Up north, the two Majestic Star<\/strong> boats hadn’t gotten the prosperity message. OK, Majestic Star I<\/strong> gained 6% to $7 million but Majestic Star II<\/strong> only managed an extra 1.5% to $4.5 million. Evidently a rising tide doesn’t lift all riverboats. By contrast, business was booming throughout the rest of the northern tier. Ameristar East Chicago<\/strong> was \"\"up 13% to $18 million, Horseshoe Hammond<\/strong> leapt 21% to $34.5 million and Blue Chip<\/strong> vaulted 22% to $12 million. Hoosier State sports books generated $170 million in handle, with casinos keeping $13 million. Basketball wagering was credited for the healthy numbers, 35% of total handle. Online wagering was 72% of the total, even before\u00a0PointsBet<\/strong>, BetIndiana<\/strong> and BetMGM<\/strong> have launched. Ameristar\/DraftKings<\/strong> led handle, with $66 million, followed by Blue Chip\/FanDuel<\/strong> with $49.5 million. French Lick\/BetRivers<\/strong> was a distant third with $8 million.<\/p>\n

\u201cIndiana has been remarkably progressive in the way it has managed its sports betting industry, rivaling New Jersey<\/strong> as the most forward-thinking legal jurisdiction,\u201d said PlayUSA.com<\/strong> analyst Dustin Gouker<\/strong>.\u00a0\u201cEarly adoption of online betting, which has been atypical among states with legal sports betting, has been an enormous boost. And innovations such as allowing prop bets for the Super Bowl<\/strong> and opening the door to Oscars<\/strong> betting show Indiana is willing to take risks in opening new markets, which will serve the state well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Illinois<\/strong> gaming revenue grew more modestly\u20146.5%\u2014but it grew, probably on account of the extra weekend day. Total statewide gross was $101 million, with $37.5 million of that coming from Rivers Casino Des \"\"Plaines<\/strong>, up a whopping 22%. It was a mixed bag for the rest of the state. Eldorado Resorts<\/strong> appears to be getting the hang of Grand Victoria<\/strong>, up 5% to $11.5 million, while Empress Joliet<\/strong> gained 7.5% to $8 million. But Harrah’s Joliet<\/strong> slipped 8% to $12 million and Hollywood Aurora<\/strong> was down 9% to $7.5 million. Jumer’s Casino Rock Island<\/strong> dipped 5% to $4 million but Par-A-Dice<\/strong> gained 5.5% to $5 million. In the southern tier, Harrah’s Metropolis<\/strong>\u00a0stumbled 2% to $5.5 million, Argosy Belle<\/strong> tumbled 10.5% to $3 million while Casino Queen<\/strong> gained 5% to $7 million.<\/p>\n

Most casino revenues are so penny-ante in Iowa<\/strong> (which was up 10% last month) that we overlook the Hawkeye State. However, it’s worth seeing just how much of the overall revenue pie Eldorado is going to get when it finishes engorging Caesars Entertainment. The latter had a boomlet at its Horseshoe<\/strong>-branded racino, up 11% to $14 million and business was still more volatile\u00a0at Harrah’s Council Bluffs<\/strong>, jumping 13.5% to $6 million. Eldorado grossed $5 million at Isle of Capri Bettendorf<\/strong> (up 7.5%) and $6.5 million (+4.5%) at The Isle Casino Waterloo<\/strong>. That would give a combined Eldorado\/Caesars a monthly $31.5 million out of $113 million\/month. Hardly an undue concentration of wealth, especially when the merged Caesars would have two casinos each on opposite sides of the state. (Four in Atlantic City<\/strong> may be harder to justify.)<\/p>\n

Finally (whew!) we head south to Missouri<\/strong>, where gambling revenues hopped 10% to $139 million. A 13% increase in table win ($23 million) drove the bus. That extra weekend day saved Eldorado’s bacon at Lumiere \"\"Place<\/strong>, flat for $12.5 million. Player favorite in the St. Louis<\/strong> area was Ameristar St. Charles<\/strong>, grossing $21 million, up 11%. Hollywood Casino St. Louis<\/strong> gained 16.5% to $19 million while sister property River City<\/strong> jumped 18% to $19 million. In the Kansas City<\/strong> market, Argosy Riverside<\/strong> was flat at $12.5 million, Isle of Capri<\/strong> gained 8.5% to $5 million, Harrah’s North Kansas City<\/strong> vaulted 15% to $14.5 million and Ameristar Kansas City<\/strong> grossed $15 million, a 7% gain. Our congratulations to everybody who had a good month, let alone a great one.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You’d be forgiven if you did a double take upon seeing the latest casino-revenue numbers out of the Midwest. Business is up\u2014to sometimes-unprecedented degrees. Take Ohio, for instance. It’s always a casino-friendly state … but a 19% upsurge in revenue? … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14189,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[60,244,176,154,277,14,199,278,198,190,165,58,68,245,39,71,69,111,242,265,243],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26072"}],"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=26072"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26072\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26073,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26072\/revisions\/26073"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14189"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26072"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26072"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26072"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}