Revenues from gaming at riverboat casinos in Missouri suffered an 8.3% decrease in December, according to a report issued Monday by the Missouri Gaming Commission.
Statewide, casinos showed revenues of $134.1 million compared to $146.2 million in December 2019.
Total revenue for the fiscal year to date, which runs from July to June in Missouri, was $779 million, a decrease of 10.2% from the $867.7 million taken in during the same 2019 period.
Missouri charges gamblers a $2 fee per visit admission fee. Revenue from admissions decreased 30.7%, from $6.23 million in December 2019 to $4.32 million this year. But December 2020 admissions revenues rose 8.5% from the previous month’s $3.98 million,
Year-to-date admission fees totaled $25.3 million, a 31.5% decrease from $36.9 million over the same period in 2019.
Only three casinos in the state showed an increase in revenue in gaming from the same time period in 2019. Casino KC in Kansas City, which is owned by Bally’s Corp., had slot and table game revenues of $6.38 million, an 18.1% jump from December 2019.
Two St. Louis-area casinos also grew gaming revenue. Lumiere Place, which is operated by Caesars Entertainment, brought in $13.8 million in December, an increase of 8.6%. Boyd Gaming’s Ameristar St. Charles had an 8.5% increase in December, to $23.9 million.
Total slot revenues at Missouri casinos decreased 7.6% to $115.8 million in December. Table game revenues were down 13.0% to $18.1 million.
Ameristar St. Charles brought in the highest slot revenue ($19.3 million) and table game revenue ($4.9 million) for the month. The property also led in revenue from admissions, at $344,100.
Casinos in Missouri were closed by state mandate on March 17, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Most casinos were able to reopen on June 1 as long as they complied with local health and wellness directives. Casinos in St. Louis County stayed closed until June 16, when gamblers were asked to wear masks and practice social distancing.
