Deadwood casinos rebound in August
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Deadwood's casinos had a good month in August, reversing a four-month-long trend of lower gaming handle than 2021 and showing a year-to-date gain in revenue.
According to the South Dakota Commission on Gaming's report for August released Friday, the total gaming handle increased by 16.6% when compared to August 2021. That reversed a trend from March, April, June and July when gaming handle decreased by 6.52%, 13%, 1.61% and 8% respectively. There was a slight increase in May with a positive gain of 1.77% when compared to May 2021. August's results increased the calendar-year gain by 0.53% after several months of decline.
Deadwood Gaming Association Executive Director Mike Rodman said on Monday that the casinos were pleased with the results.
"August’s strong performance pushed gaming revenues into positive territory for the year,” Rodman said. “We are thrilled to see 2022 numbers matching 2021’s record breaking year.”
In August, gamblers put nearly $157 million in slot machines, $8.9 million in chip purchases for table games and $266,673 in sports bets. In all, visitors to Deadwood's casinos spent just over $166 million on wagers and chip purchases in August.
Slot machine handle increased 17.75% in August, when compared to August 2021, on Deadwood's 2,555 machines. So far in 2022, slot machine handle is up by 0.51% compared to 2021.
The commission's report shows Deadwood's 86 table games saw a 2.97% decrease when compared to August 2021. Table games are down by 5.58% year-to-date.
Sports wagering included $266,673.08 in August's handle and a statistical win for gamblers of $59,052.08. These results were better for players than April's results, which for the first time showed a loss since wagering was legalized last year. Most bets in August were placed on Major League Baseball games, followed by National Football League games and college football.
The casinos had a taxable adjusted gross income of just over $14.9 million in August, with $1,344,581.28 in taxes due to various state, county and local government entities.
Through the first eight months of 2022, gamblers in Deadwood have spent just over $1 billion on wagers and chip purchases, an of 0.53% when compared to 2021.
So far in 2022, slot machines handled nearly $950 million. Table games saw nearly $59 million in chip purchases, a decrease over 2021. Sports wagering year-to-date is just under $4 million.
The report showed casinos rewarded players with almost $1.5 million in "free play" during August.
