A bad calendar comparison from a year ago and a smoking ban targeting restaurants and casinos in Baton Rouge pummeled Louisiana gaming revenues during July.
Statewide, gaming revenue from casinos fell 5.5 percent during the month to $222.4 million compared to July 2017, according the figures supplied by the Louisiana Gaming Control Board.
Baton Rouge, which is home to three casinos – L’Auberge Baton Rouge, Hollywood Casino and Belle of Baton Rouge – saw its revenue decline 26.7 percent to $19.9 million. Without Baton Rouge, Louisiana would have been down just 2.8 percent year-over-year.
Deutsche Bank gaming analyst Carlo Santarelli said a smoking implemented in the city drove down casino visitation and results. Also, a year ago, Louisiana casinos benefited by nine weekend days in July, compared to eight this year.
“Specifically, July 2018 had one less Saturday, which was replaced by a Tuesday,” Santarelli said, adding that weekends are far better for casino operators than weekdays, especially a Tuesday.
As for other Louisiana markets, Lake Charles was down 2.6 percent, New Orleans fell 2.1 percent and Shreveport – Bossier City was off 4.1 percent.
Two of the state’s riverboat casinos showed positive results in July. Margaritaville in the Shreveport-Bossier City area had a 9 percent increase in gaming revenue. The property is being acquired by Penn National Gaming and real estate investment trust VICI Properties for $376 million. The transaction is expected to close later this year.
Penn National, one of the gaming industry’s largest regional gaming operators, currently does not have a casino-resort in Louisiana. Through its pending $2.8 billion acquisition of Pinnacle Entertainment, the company will acquire four casinos in the state – Boomtown New Orleans, Boomtown Bossier City, L’Auberge Lake Charles, and L’Auberge Baton Rouge.
Boyd Gaming Corp.’s Amelia Belle, which is outside of New Orleans, was only other Louisiana casino that had a positive July, with gaming revenue up 8 percent.
Harrah’s New Orleans, the state’s only land-based casino, saw gaming revenue decline 1.9 percent to $23.5 million. L’Auberge Lake Charles had Louisiana’s largest single gaming revenue total, $30.6 million in July, which was down 0.7 percent. Golden Nugget Lake Charles reported gaming revenue of $29.5 million, down 0.1 percent.
Howard Stutz is the executive editor of CDC Gaming Reports. He can be reached at hstutz@cdcgamingreports.com. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.
