Monday, May 23, 2022
Friday, May 20, 2022
Media Man Gaming blog: US Casinos Had Best Month Ever in March, Winning $5.3B
US Casinos Had Best Month Ever in March, Winning $5.3B
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Inflation may be soaring, supply chains remain snarled and the coronavirus just won’t go away, but America’s casinos are humming right along, recording the best month in their history in March.
The American Gaming Association, the gambling industry’s national trade group, said Wednesday that U.S. commercial casinos won more than $5.3 billion from gamblers in March, the best single-month total ever. The previous record month was July 2021 at $4.92 billion.
The casinos collectively also had their best first quarter ever, falling just short of the $14.35 billion they won from gamblers in the fourth quarter of last year, which was the highest three-month period in history.
Three states set quarterly revenue records to start this year: Arkansas ($147.4 million); Florida ($182 million), and New York ($996.6 million).
The numbers do not include tribal casinos, which report their income separately and are expected to report similarly positive results.
But while the national casino economy is doing well, there are pockets of sluggishness such as Atlantic City, where in-person casino revenue has not yet rebounded to pre-pandemic levels.
“Consumers continue to seek out gaming’s entertainment options in record numbers,” said Bill Miller, the association’s president and CEO. He said the strong performance to start 2022 came ”despite continued headwinds from supply chain constraints, labor shortages and the impact of soaring inflation.”
The trade group also released its annual State of the States report on Wednesday, examining gambling’s performance across the country.
As previously reported, nationwide casino revenue set an all-time high in 2021 at $53.03 billion, up 21% from the previous best year, 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic hit.
But the report includes new details, including that commercial casinos paid a record $11.69 billion in direct gambling tax revenue to state and local governments in 2021. That’s an increase of 75% from 2020 and 15 percent from 2019. This does not include the billions more paid in income, sales and other taxes, the association said.
It also ranked the largest casino markets in the U.S. in terms of revenue for 2021:
The Las Vegas Strip is first at $7.05 billion, followed by: Atlantic City ($2.57 billion); the Chicago area ($2.01 billion); Baltimore-Washington D.C. ($2 billion); the Gulf Coast ($1.61 billion); New York City ($1.46 billion); Philadelphia ($1.40 billion); Detroit ($1.29 billion); St. Louis ($1.03 billion); and the Boulder Strip in Nevada ($967 million).
The association divides most of Pennsylvania’s casinos into three separate markets: Philadelphia, the Poconos and Pittsburgh. Their combined revenue of nearly $2.88 billion would make them the second largest market in the country if judged as a single entity. It also counts downtown Las Vegas, and its $731 million in revenue, as a separate market.
Seven additional states legalized sports betting and two more added internet gambling in 2021.
The group reported many states saw gamblers spending more in casinos while visiting them in lower numbers compared to pre-pandemic 2019.
The average age of a casino patron last year was 43 1/2, compared to 49 1/2 in 2019.
Americans bet $57.7 billion on sports last year, more than twice the amount from 2020. That generated $4.33 billion in revenue, an increase of nearly 180% over 2020.
Internet gambling revenue reached $3.71 billion last year, and three states — New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Michigan — each won more than $1 billion online. West Virginia’s internet gambling market reached $60.9 million in revenue in its first full year of operation, while Connecticut’s two internet casinos reported combined revenue of $47.6 million after launching in October.
Sunday, May 15, 2022
Tuesday, May 10, 2022
Media Man Gaming Blog: Gaming and pop culture news update
News, Pop Culture, Digital, Sports and more via Media Man
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Sunday, May 1, 2022
Media Man Gaming Blog: Bally's River West Resort - Casino in Chicago, USA?
Bally's River West Resort - Casino in Chicago, USA?
Rhode Island-based Bally's appears to be the last casino up for consideration in the Windy City of Chicago.
Alderman Pat Dowell announced on Monday she "cannot support” Hard Rock International’s plan to open a casino as part of the proposed mega-development in her ward, citing neighbors’ fears over crime and the potential for overcrowding.
Bally's is the only proposal left on the table. That company is looking to develop a casino resort in the River West section of the city. The alderman there has not come out against a gambling site in the ward.
City leaders are looking to tap revenue from the eventual casino to fund Chicago's pension obligations.
“I believe a casino will support the growth and prosperity of the City by adding a sought-after destination amenity to Chicago’s already world-class tourism and hospitality offerings,” Dowell wrote in her statement. “I know first-hand how vital a casino is to the City’s bottom line. The revenues from a Chicago casino will go a long way towards ensuring we meet our obligations to the Police and Fire pension funds.”
But she added that city leaders must balance the “positive aspects of each casino proposal” against “the needs and wishes of the existing community.”
“The Hard Rock Casino at ONE Central would be dropped into an existing, well-established family community in the Prairie District of Chicago’s South Loop,” Dowell wrote. “Because of that, I have concerns about the density of the Hard Rock Casino proposal.”
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