As far as January’s go, 2018 wasn’t a good start for the nation’s casino industry.
Gaming revenues fell 1.68 percent in during the year’s first month, due in part to weather complications in many casino markets, according to Reno-based gaming analyst and consultant Ken Adams.
Total gaming revenue nationwide, which covers 21 commercial casino the VLT states, was $3.23 billion during January, Adams wrote in his monthly Adams Revenue Revue, which he produced for CDC Gaming Reports.
Still, states that in 2017 saw new casinos opens and additional video lottery terminals come on line, January was a profitable month.
Adams said one month doesn’t foretell a whole year.
“It’s impossible to discern longer-term trends. However, for February we do know that weather will be a factor for many parts of the country,” Adams said.
The nation’s major gaming markets all had down months in January. Gaming revenue fell 2 percent in Nevada, Pennsylvania was off 1.6 percent. Mississippi was down 9 percent, and Atlantic City declined 9.9 percent.
There were some bright spots.
Maryland saw gaming saw gaming revenue climb 1.2 percent $127.7 million. The month marked the first equal comparison, following the December 2016 opening of the MGM National Harbor.
MGM reported more revenue in January 2018 than 2017, but only marginally. The property’s biggest competitors, Maryland Live and the Horseshoe Baltimore, reported slight declines.
“The rest of year will be interesting as both Maryland Live and Horseshoe Baltimore are going to do whatever they can to recapture some of the market share they lost to MGM last year,” Adams said.
New York and Kansas and Illinois grew gaming revenues in January, primarily due to an expanded gaming market.
Kansas – up 2.9 percent – had one more casino than a year ago, Kansas Crossing. The property accounted for $2.6 million of the state’s $3.2 million increase. In New York, virtually all the state’s 17.4 percent gaming revenue increase was due to new casinos.
In Illinois, VLT revenue grew 15.9 percent in January. The state had 28,403 VLTs operating during the month, 14.2 percent more than a year ago. Meanwhile, Illinois casino revenue declined 5.6 percent. On a whole, Illinois’ total gaming revenue was up 4.2 percent in January.
CDC Gaming Reports distributes the Adams Revenue Revue to premium subscribers.
