{"id":28776,"date":"2020-11-13T13:31:59","date_gmt":"2020-11-13T21:31:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/?p=28776"},"modified":"2020-11-18T07:56:44","modified_gmt":"2020-11-18T15:56:44","slug":"gaming-slows-across-midwest-except-in-ohio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/gaming-slows-across-midwest-except-in-ohio\/","title":{"rendered":"Gaming slows across Midwest … except in Ohio"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"\"Caesars Entertainment<\/strong> CEO Tom Reeg<\/strong> must have dropped some extra-potent LSD before his last investor call. His comments were summarized by one auditor as, “When we get into a Post-COVID world Pent-Up demand you’re going to see for Gaming And … Las Vegas<\/strong> in Particular Is going to be beyond your Wildest Dreams. Unlike anything that’s happened historically in this Space.” That not only puts Reeg not only out on a limb but in the thinly populated lunatic fringe of gaming executives and Wall Street<\/strong> analysts. It also conveniently allows Reeg to write off present-day reality as an aberration. For example, the drawdown of federal economic stimulus seems to be having a parallel effect on regional gaming. Not even two extra weekend days in October could produce impressive results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

True, there’s always Ohio<\/strong>, no doubt helped by the fact that Detroit<\/strong> casinos are still largely off-limits. The Buckeye State was up 7% to $169 million. MGM Northfield Park<\/strong> and Hollywood Columbus<\/strong> vied for the top spot with $20 million each. But MGM doesn’t have table games so we give it the ‘win.’ Hollywood Columbus<\/strong> was up 10.5% while MGM slipped 5%. Hollywood Toledo<\/strong> continues to outperform, with $18.5 million and a 16% gain. Jack Cleveland<\/strong> won $19 million for a 12% upsurge and Hard Rock Cincinnati<\/strong> kept its footing, up 1.5% to $17 million. Jack Thistledown<\/strong> grossed $14 million, up 16.5%, while Scioto Downs<\/strong> did $17 million (+11%) and Miami Valley Gaming<\/strong> won $14.5 million (+2%). Belterra Park<\/strong> was flat at $7 million, while Hollywood Dayton<\/strong> leapt 13.5% to $11 million and Hollywood Mahoning Valley<\/strong> slipped 2% to $11 million. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Normally lucrative Maryland<\/strong> actually dipped 1% to $142.5 million. MGM National Harbor<\/strong> slipped 6% to $56 million, its slot revenue flat but table revenue 12% off. By contrast, Maryland Live<\/strong> was up 4%, grossing $49.5 million, while Horseshoe Baltimore<\/strong> faded to $17 million, down 9.5%. Hollywood Perryville<\/strong> vaulted 20% to $7 million, Ocean Downs<\/strong> also made $7 million (+4%) and Rocky Gap Casino<\/strong> came through for Golden Entertainment<\/strong>, up 10% to $5 million. Over in West Virginia<\/strong>, revenues tumbled 20%, with tables in a 33% tailspin and slots off 17%. At Penn National Gaming<\/strong>‘s Charles Town Races<\/strong> it wasn’t quite so bad, with slots down 16%, tables -30% for an overall -16%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Indiana<\/strong> slid 7% to $162 million. That’s not even an apples-to-apples comparison, as it includes $4.5 million in table-game revenue from Caesars racinos that they didn’t have last year. Despite a 26% plunge, Horseshoe Hammond<\/strong> still dominated the Hoosier State with $26 million, while Ameristar East Chicago<\/strong> gained 9% to $18 million and Blue Chip<\/strong> (shown<\/em>) toppled 21% to $10 million. The two Majestic Star<\/strong> boats grossed $7 million and $4.5 million, respectively, -1.5% and flat. French Lick Resort<\/strong> got licked, down 29% to $5.5 million. Indiana Grand<\/strong> jumped 13% to $22 million and Harrah’s Hoosier Downs<\/strong> was flat at $16 million. Rising Star<\/strong> grossed only 4% but that was good for a 6.5% gain. Belterra Resort<\/strong> fell 12% to $7 million and Tropicana Evansville<\/strong> (soon to be Bally’s) dipped 11% to $10.5 million. Caesars Southern Indiana<\/strong> cooled a bit, up 2% to $17.5 million whilst Hollywood Lawrenceburg<\/strong> slid 7% to $13.5 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some redemption was to be had in the form of sports-betting revenue, which rose to $231 million in handle, thanks in part to the return of Big Ten<\/strong> football. \u201cWith a schedule that was more comparable to an ordinary October, Indiana\u2019s sportsbooks fared well and offered a clearer read on where Indiana\u2019s market stands,\u201d said analyst Dustin Gouker<\/strong>. \u201cInterest in the Indianapolis Colts<\/strong>, Indiana University<\/strong>, and Notre Dame<\/strong> is helping as the state transitions from a market that relies on Chicago<\/strong> to one that is more reliant on local bettors.\u201d It also boiled down to $21 million in revenue, 50% higher than in September. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wagers on NFL<\/strong> and college football hit $85 million, easily outdrawing basketball ($11 million) and baseball ($26.5 million). And that’s not counting the handle on the Halloween Candy Bowl<\/strong>, an eating contest held in Las Vegas. \u201cWringing a few extra dollars from Joey Chestnut downing candy corn might not be a game-changer on its own,” wrote analyst Jessica Welman<\/strong>. “But it is a sign of a larger strategy by sportsbooks to diversify their boards in interesting ways.\u201d William Hill<\/strong> launched its online sports book but only scared up pocket change as FanDuel<\/strong> (Blue Chip, $63.5 million handle) and DraftKings<\/strong> (Ameristar, $90.5 million) reigned supreme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

There was a 5.5% slippage in Missouri<\/strong>, where Ameristar St. Charles<\/strong> was flat but that was good enough to lead the state with $22 million. Hollywood St. Louis<\/strong>, despite its proximity, slid 16.5% to $16 million. Lumiere Place<\/strong> (pictured<\/em>) was down 6% to $11 million and River City<\/strong> shed 12% to $16.5 million. In the Kansas City<\/strong> market, Ameristar<\/strong> (-11.5%, $14.5 million) ceded primacy to Harrah’s North Kansas City<\/strong> (+2%, $15 million), while Isle of Capri<\/strong>\u2014or whatever generic moniker Twin River Holdings<\/strong> has put on it\u2014jumped 13.5% to $6 million and Argosy Riverside<\/strong> dipped 3% to $13 million. Caesars claimed top honors out in the sticks with $6 million at Isle of Capri Boonville<\/strong> despite a 5.5% falloff. A player from the Show-Me State writes us, “There are a lot of casinos in the market by nobody seems to have invested a nickel since the Clinton administration. Ameristar St. Charles is the class of the state. Lumere Place has potential. KC is four boats all run aground and last updated when Mark Twain<\/strong> passed by.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What’s Illinois<\/strong>‘ excuse? Slot routes? The state’s never been the same since the Great Recession and last month’s gambling revenues plummeted 26% to a pitiful $79 million. With the exception of Rivers Casino Des Plaines<\/strong>, falling 13.5% to $30 million, the figures were nothing short of calamitous. So let’s get the pain out of the way. ‘Best of the rest’ was Grand Victoria<\/strong>‘s $9.5 million (-21%). Harrah’s Joliet<\/strong> was -36.5% ($8 million), Empress Joliet<\/strong> -28% ($6.5 million), Hollywood Aurora<\/strong> -31% ($6 million), Par-A-Dice<\/strong> -28% ($4 million), Harrah’s Metropolis<\/strong> -31.5% ($4 million), DraftKings Casino Queen<\/strong> -40% ($5 million), Jumer’s Rock Island Casino<\/strong> -40% (Twin River’s pride and joy at $3 million) and would the last person leaving Argosy Belle<\/strong> (-40%, $2 million) please turn off the lights?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What sort of person bets on last Monday’s tilt between the 3-6 New England Patriots<\/strong> and the 0-9 New York Jets<\/strong>? Hell, who watches<\/em> it? Fans, however, are ensured of a slew of knuckle-biters this weekend, with TheLines.com<\/strong> aggregating various betting sites to come up with eight games with spreads of four points or fewer. The outlier is the Green Bay Packers<\/strong>, expected to wallop the Jacksonville Jaguars<\/strong> by 14 points. As for the seemingly playoff-bound Las Vegas Raiders<\/strong>, they’re favored to edge the gimpy Denver Broncos<\/strong> by five points, with an over\/under of 52.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Caesars Entertainment CEO Tom Reeg must have dropped some extra-potent LSD before his last investor call. His comments were summarized by one auditor as, “When we get into a Post-COVID world Pent-Up demand you’re going to see for Gaming And … 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":[60,244,176,70,154,44,277,14,278,198,97,165,68,255,72,245,71,69,265,74,243,269,139,252],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28776"}],"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=28776"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28776\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28778,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28776\/revisions\/28778"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28776"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28776"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28776"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}