Deadwood casinos reverse negative trend in August at $166M in gaming handle
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Casinos in Deadwood had a good month for gambling in August, according to the latest data unveiled by the South Dakota Commission on Gaming. The gambling venues were able to reverse a continued trend of lower handle than 2021, and showed a year-to-date gain in revenue. Visitors to Deadwood's casinos spent over $166 million on wagers and chip purchases during the month.
Total gaming handle was up by 16.6% when paired against August 2021. The rebound reversed a negative trend that went from March to July, when Deadwood casinos posted handle decreases of 6.5% in March, 13% in April, 1.6% in June and 8% in July, with only May seeing a slight increase at 1.7%.
The positive August results increased the calendar-year gain by 0.53% after several months of decline, reports Rapid City Journal. Deadwood Gaming Association Executive Director Mike Rodman said the casinos were pleased with the results, stating that the strong performance “pushed gaming revenues into positive territory” for the year. “We are thrilled to see 2022 numbers matching 2021’s record-breaking year,” Rodman added.
During the month of August, gamblers at Deadwood casinos put nearly $157 million in slot machines, $8.9 million in chip purchases for table games, and $266,673 in sports bets. Slot machine handle on Deadwood’s 2,555 machines jumped by 17.7% when compared to August last year, and is up by 0.5% thus far in 2022.
As for Deadwood’s 86table games, these experienced a 3% decrease in August when compared to the same month last year. Additionally, table gaming is down by 5.6% on a year-to-date basis.
As for sports wagering, total handle was almost $267K, and led to a statistical win for gamblers of $59,052. The results were better for players than April’s results, which for the first time showed a loss since wagering was legalized last year, reports Rapid City Journal. Most August bets were placed on MLB games, followed by NFL and college football.
Deadwood casinos had a taxable adjusted gross income of just over $14.9 million in August, with $1.3 million in taxes due to state, county and local government entities. Through the first eight months of the current year, gamblers in Deadwood have spent just over $1 billion on wagers and chip purchases, slightly up from the same period in 2021.
Thus far in 2022, slot machines handled nearly $950 million, while Deadwood table games saw nearly $59 million in chip purchases. As for sports wagering, year-to-date handle is just under $4 million.
Back in July, the South Dakota Legislature’s Rules Review Committee gave final approval to a new package of regulations that would require, among other safeguards, for licensed gaming venues in Deadwood to prove to the state Commission on Gaming that they have put processes in place to watch for illegal activity and to keep compulsive people from betting.
The regulation requires that each casino’s plan receive approval from the commission’s executive secretary, Susan Christian, and that each casino report monthly to her office those who have voluntarily excluded themselves, local media reported.
