Ohio Casinos Continue To Suffer In August
September 10, 2013 1:38 pmThe Ohio Casino Control Commission has released its gambling results for August, revealing a 1.6% decline in revenue to $70.9 million compared to July’s figure of $72 million.
Last month, four of the state’s six gambling establishments generated less in revenue than they did in the previous month, and worryingly all three of the venues which have been operating for more than a year all recorded significantly lower revenue results compared with August 2012. Commenting on the troubling trend, Steve Gallaway, principal of Gaming Market Advisors, said:
“Nobody expected the economy to still be lagging like this. They will come back, but instead of one to two years, it may be five to 10 years before Ohio realizes the positive impact of gambling.”
During August, the Toledo casino saw its revenue increase by 2.9% from July’s figures to $15.9 million; while the Horseshoe Cleveland fell 4.8% to $18.9 million; the Hollywood Casino Columbus was down 3.4% to $16.9 million; and the Horseshoe Casino Cincinnati declined by 0.3% to $19.2 million for August.
Meanwhile, Scioto Downs Casino & Racetrack raked in $11.1 million from its slot-machine operation, a 15.4% fall from August last year; while revenue at Ohio’s other racino, ThistleDown, rose by 3.6% to $11.8 million compared with the previous month.
Despite the unimpressive August results, Ohio can still take solace in the facts that it is just one of many casino markets in the US suffering on account of the ailing economy.
“The whole regional gaming market continues to suffer, and almost every market shows year-over-year declines. It’s a broken record, but it’s the economy. People just don’t have the disposable income,” explained Steve Gallaway.
Other gambling markets also posting declines in revenue for August included Indiana down 8.2%, Pennsylvania slots revenue down 2.5%, and in July even Las Vegas saw its revenue plummet by a massive 14.4% to $511.4 million.