Warning: Undefined array key "post_type_share_twitter_account" in /var/www/vhosts/casinonewsblogger.com/public_html/wp-content/themes/cryptocurrency/vslmd/share/share.php on line 24
It’s a good thing that Las Vegas has diversified its economy since 2008. Were that not the case, the subpar performance of the Las Vegas Strip would be pulling everyone down with it. But September’s gambling grosses show resilience in the locals-casino sphere … and the weakness of the Strip starting to infect Downtown as well.
Strip revenues sank 5.5% last month, hitting $688 million, while Downtown slipped 2% to $89 million. Locals casinos were up 2% overall. Part of the Strip’s problem was that baccarat hold fell by 50%, on 15% larger wagering. That resulted in a 42.5% plunge in baccarat win, always a perilous metric. Even without James Bond‘s favorite game, table winnings fell 7% to $248 million, despite 3% more betting. Slots were the lone Strip bright spot, as coin-in jumped 13% and win was up 3% to $439 million. Guess those Strip casinos need the low-rollers after all.
That may explain why Caesars Entertainment CEO Tom Reeg was giving his usual sunshine-and-roses spiel yesterday. Reeg couldn’t hide his disdain for customers, pooh-poohing recent price escalations (which include $95 breakfast buffets at the Flamingo, for one isolated example). As far as the Reegs of this world are concerned, consumers are so many lemmings and Las Vegas is the sea.
While Strip casinos were taking it on the chin at the tables, the Boulder Strip ($83.5 million) was up 3.5%, miscellaneous Clark County rose 2% to $159 million and North Las Vegas was flat at $23 million. The satellite markets did even better, with Laughlin up 6% ($40.5 million) and Mesquite doing the same ($15 million). The one note of real concern is that Wendover, a bellwether for the Nevada economy, slid 6.5% to $21 million. Reno hopped 5% to $75.5 million but Sparks was a damp squib ($14 million, -10%), while Lake Tahoe jumped 10% to $23.5 million.
Memo to Reeg: Customers are pissed. You should talk to one sometime.
Out East, in the Bay State, casinos in Massachusetts had a good month, up 5%. Encore Boston Harbor‘s $59 million was good for a 2.5% uplift. MGM Springfield, which is living on borrowed time as an MGM-branded property, jumped 6.5% to $22 million. Plainridge Park also leapt 6.5% to $14 million. Sports betting revenues added another $54 million to the kitty but that was a 27% plummet, thanks to adverse football results. DraftKings kept $27 million to FanDuel’s $16.5 million, while BetMGM was a distant third with $4 million. ESPN Bet garnered $1.5 million and Caesars Sportsbook did $1 million.
Not having a good month were brick-and-mortar casinos in Detroit. Well, except for Hollywood Greektown, which made a welcome return to form with $23.5 million (4.5% up). MGM Grand Detroit was dimmed 4% to $46 million and Motor City got thwacked 7% to $29 million. iGaming, meanwhile, surged 28% to $259 million overall. FanDuel led with $70 million, trailed by BetMGM ($66 million) and DraftKings ($40.5 million). Caesars Palace Online brought in $18 million and Hollywood Casino was good for $7.5 million. Sports betting revenues sank 25%, with all the major providers taking it in the shorts except ESPN Bet, which was up 23.5%—to $2 million. Even after sustaining high-double-digit setbacks, the big boys were still in the long green: FanDuel $18 million, DraftKings $10.5 million, BetMGM $7 million. The small fry were rounded out by PointsBet ($3 million) and Caesars Sportsbook ($1 million).
Finally … POTUS has gotten himself into the iGaming business this week. We’d love to say something about it but we’ll turn the mike over to RIchard Schuetz, who says it so much better.
