In spite of sucking a staggering amount from local economies, the overstated projections of Spectrum Gaming failed to materialize that might be blamed instead on Gambling Market Saturation and Exhausting the Supply of Local Gambling Addicts.
Let's not overlook that the Predatory Gambling Industry wrote the legislation, just as they have elsewhere.
Another flat month for gambling revenue
By Steve Wartenberg
The Columbus DispatchSaturday June 8, 2013
Across the nation and in Ohio, the revenue generated at casinos has been flat or down in recent months, and the trend continued in May for most of the state’s casinos.
“It’s been a rough year across the board,” said Steve Gallaway, principal of Gaming Market Advisors, a Denver-based gambling-industry research firm.
For Ohio, which launched casino gambling last year, it means the state is “seeing a much longer ramp up than was originally anticipated,” said Gallaway, who blames a struggling economy.
Revenue at Ohio’s four Las Vegas-style casinos was $72.2 million in May, a 0.01 percent drop from April’s total, according to the Ohio Casino Control Commission. Hollywood Casino Columbus fared the poorest of the four, as revenue was $16.7 million, a 7.4 percent decline. This was the lowest monthly total at the casino since it opened in October.
“We consistently do not comment on month-to-month ups and downs,” said Bob Tenenbaum, spokesman for Hollywood Columbus. “We are always tweaking and looking at the numbers to determine the best way to operate and, overall, we’re very pleased with the performance.”
Revenue was $11.6 million at Scioto Downs during the month, a 1.9 percent increase, according to the Ohio Lottery Commission.
“May is always a bit of a tough month in this business, so we’re really pleased with our numbers,” said Kevin O’Sullivan, Scioto Downs’ senior director of operations. He attributed the solid monthly numbers to the start of the racing season on May 8 and the Travis Tritt concert on May 26 that attracted 2,500 country music fans.
O’Sullivan thinks Scioto Downs — and other casinos — could see a revenue uptick in June, July and August.
“These months are traditionally the strongest in our business,” he said.
The state’s second racino, ThistleDown, had a little less than $11 million in revenue in May, a 37.7 percent increase from April. It opened on April 9.Five more racinos are slated to open in Ohio by the end of 2014. “It could be that the market has reached about the size it is going to be,” said David Schwartz, director of the Center for Gaming Research at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas. “I don’t know how much more demand there is for more slots.” In other states, casinos also have struggled recently.
Slot revenue at Pennsylvania’s casinos was down 1.8 percent for the past 11 months compared with the year-ago period, according to that state’s Gaming Control Board.
“In Illinois, revenue’s down5.2 percent for the first three months of the year; it’s down
7 percent in Indiana for the first fourth months of the year,” Gallaway said.
A casino’s revenue is the amount of money gamblers lose at the slot machines and table games. About a third of this revenue at casinos and racinos is returned to the state.
Despite what he calls ramp-up problems, Gallaway thinks Ohio’s casinos and racinos will be profitable.
“They’re highly feasible and will make plenty of money,” he said. “It will just take longer.”& amp; lt; /p>
Horseshoe Casino Cincinnati had the biggest gains of the state’s four casinos.
May revenue was $19.6 million, a 10.1 percent increase from April. The casino opened on March 4.
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/business/2013/06/08/another-flat-month-for-gambling-revenue.html
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