{"id":27952,"date":"2020-09-11T11:02:40","date_gmt":"2020-09-11T19:02:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/?p=27952"},"modified":"2020-09-14T08:57:49","modified_gmt":"2020-09-14T16:57:49","slug":"hiccups-in-indiana-missouri","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/hiccups-in-indiana-missouri\/","title":{"rendered":"Hiccups in Indiana, Missouri"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Stimulus checks and pent-up demand only seem to go so far (except in Ohio<\/strong>). Gambling revenues in Indiana<\/strong> were down 10% last month, to $168 million. $5 million of that was table game play from Hoosier Park<\/strong> and Indiana Grand<\/strong>, something the Hoosier State didn’t have at this time last year. Other than Indiana Grand, only Caesars Southern Indiana<\/strong> was revenue-positive for the month, up 2.5% to $18.5 million. (The racino climbed 9% to $23 million.) There were the Caesars Entertainment<\/strong> properties and then there was everybody else. Horseshoe Hammond<\/strong> grossed $29 million, a 13% decline, while Hoosier Park<\/strong> slipped 2.5% to $16 million. Best of the rest was Ameristar East Chicag<\/strong>o, down 2% to $19 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Rounding out the northern tier were the Majestic Star<\/strong> boats, grossing $6.5 million (-13%) and $4.5 million (-9%) respectively, as well as Blue Chip<\/strong>. The latter got walloped, down 31% to $9.5 million. Its companion in misery was French Lick Resort<\/strong>, tumbling 40% to $5 million. In the south, Belterra<\/strong> shed 22.5% for $8 million, while Tropicana Evansville<\/strong> stumbled to 10.5% (-17%) and Rising Star<\/strong> slipped 7% to $4 million. Hollywood Casino Lawrenceburg<\/strong> fell 12% to $14 million. Sports betting closed out its first year with a month that saw $169 million in handle. A full month of MLB<\/strong>, NBA<\/strong> and NHL<\/strong> play got the credit, even though Indiana’s fourth-place standing among American sports-betting states was described as “increasingly tenuous.” The NBA led sports bets ($55 million), with baseball second at $31 million. Football barely registered, thanks to the delay of the collegiate season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Summarized analyst Dustin Gouker<\/strong>, \u201cAugust\u2019s results are a clear signal that we are turning the page on its darkest days. The state\u2019s status among legal jurisdictions is relatively safe for now. But Indiana also faces some headwinds, including increased competition in Illinois<\/strong> and Michigan<\/strong>.\u201d That handle translated into $10 million in revenue, in the third-best month of sports wagering in Hoosier State history. Warned analyst Jessica Welman<\/strong>, \u201cAn Illinois expansion of online betting could really affect Indiana. In that case, the state\u2019s sportsbooks will have to be creative in attracting new bettors within the state to help blunt the loss of the Chicago<\/strong> market. And Indiana is still in position to capitalize on large markets in Ohio and Kentucky<\/strong>.\u201d 85% of August betting was done online, dominated by DraftKings<\/strong>\/Ameristar ($74 million) and FanDuel<\/strong>\/Blue Chip ($50 million). BetMGM<\/strong>\/Belterra ($9.5 million), BetRivers<\/strong>\/French Lick ($5 million) and PointsBet<\/strong>\/Horseshoe ($5 million) were the only others above $1 million. Horseshoe led retail books with $7 million in handle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Missouri<\/strong> gambling revenues sledded 13% down to $131.5 million, mainly in the St. Louis<\/strong> market. Slots were off 11% ($114.5 million), tables tumbled 25% to $17 million. Ameristar St. Charles<\/strong> was the state leader with $21 million, down 10.5%. Penn National Gaming<\/strong> had the problem of competing with itself, falling 29% at Hollywood Casino St. Loui<\/strong>s (pictured<\/em>) for $15 million and grossing $16 million at River City<\/strong>, a 19% stumble. Lumiere Place<\/strong>, now under Caesars’ auspices, slipped 7.5% to $12 million. In Kansas City<\/strong>, top honors went to Harrah’s North Kansas City<\/strong>, grossing $15.5 million and flat with last year. Twin River Holdings<\/strong> has its work cut out for it at Isle of Capri<\/strong>, eking out $4.5 million and slaloming -23%. Argosy Riverside<\/strong> won $12.5 million, a 13% dip, and Ameristar Kansas City<\/strong> ($14 million) slipped 13.5%. The only revenue-positive casinos were three low-grossing ones out in the boonies, including Century Casinos<\/strong>‘ Caruthersville<\/strong> property, up 2%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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If you’re building in Singapore<\/strong> you’d better be prepared to up your game, as Apple<\/strong> is doing with a superstore that is part of the expanding Marina Bay Sands<\/strong>. The desired illusion<\/a> is that the giant sphere is floating upon the lagoon. If that weren’t enough enough, you enter the boutique through a tunnel that goes underwater. Foster + Partners<\/strong> cunningly repurposed an ex-Louis Vuitton<\/strong> store to create one of the jewels of MBS, inspired by the Pantheon in ancient Rome. “The sphere is a first-of-its-kind, all-glass dome structure that is fully self-supported, comprised of 114 pieces of glass with only 10 narrow vertical mullions for structural connection,” quoth Apple. Software issues are addressed in a sub-waterline Boardroom, although most of the structure’s interior resembles a traditional Apple Store<\/strong> writ large, with the Genius Bar right down the middle. Ah, one more reason to check out Sheldon Adelson<\/strong>‘s pleasure palace when visiting Singapore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n