Ohio casino revenue slipped during April

Tribune Chronicle
 
Wild Casino

WARREN — Revenue at Ohio’s four casinos in April was down a modest 0.5 percent from the previous month, but still topped more than $92.8 million, according to the latest data from the state.

The Ohio Casino Control Commission reported table revenue of $28.9 million, a 2.5 percent increase from $28.2 million in March, but a 1.8 percent decrease in slot revenue, from $65.05 million to $63.8 million, a difference of about $1.2 million.

In April 2021, revenue was $92.5 million; table revenue was $26.8 million; and slot revenue was $65.6 million.

The four casinos are JACK Cleveland Casino, Hard Rock Cincinnati Casino, Hollywood Toledo Casino and Hollywood Columbus Casino. In April, Hard Rock Cincinnati posted the most revenue, $24.38 million.

Across the U.S., casinos recorded their best month in history in March.

The American Gaming Association, the gambling industry’s national trade group, said last week 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.

The numbers do not include tribal casinos, which report their income separately and are expected to report similarly positive results.

“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 that examines gambling’s performance across the country.

Nationwide casino revenue set an all-time high in 2021 at $53.03 billion, up 21 percent from the previous best year, 2019, before the 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 percent 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, $1.4 billion; Detroit, $1.29 billion; St. Louis, $1.03 billion; and the Boulder Strip in Nevada, $967 million.

The association divides 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.