Ohio Casinos Up 5% To $72m In July

On Wednesday, The Ohio Casino Control Commission released its financial results for July revealing a 5% increase in revenues to $72 million compared to the previous month.
During July, all of Ohio’s four casinos reported increases in growth and leading the way in terms of total revenue was the Horseshoe Cleveland, up 2.7% to $19.86 million compared to June; followed by the Hollywood Casino Toledo up 1.4% to $15.41 million; and the Hollywood Casino Columbus, up 6% to $17.48 million. Finally, Ohio’s newest casino, the $400 million Horseshoe Casino Cincinnati which opened for the first time on March 4th, posted an impressive 9.4% improvement in revenue to $19.26 million.
In addition, the Midwestern state boasts two racinos and during July the ThistleDown Racino saw the highest monthly increase, up 11% to $11.4 million; while Scioto Downs reported the only decrease in revenues during the month, down 2.5% to $11.16 million.
However, the slots only Scioto Downs had a different take on its monthly numbers, with VP Troy Buswell, explaining: “It wasn’t a decrease in our volume..It was really an increase in our jackpots — the amount we paid out..We didn’t change anything. The higher payout was a function of the volatility on the floor. It goes back to our goal to create value for our guests.”
In total, revenue from Ohio’s six gambling venues was up 4.7% to $90.36 million in July compared to June, with comparisons to last year not practical as most of them opened up within the last year.
“July is typically the best summer month for casinos. You expect a bump,” explained Ed Feigenbaum, editor of “Indiana Gaming Insight. “You want to look year-over-year, but you don’t have a lot of experience with that in Ohio yet.”
In the meantime, Ohio’s gambling industry is set to expand further over the next few months with another five racinos currently under construction. This include the Hard Rock Northfield Park Rocksino in Northfield, the Hollywood Slots at Dayton Raceway, the Hollywood Slots at Mahoning Valley Race Course, the Miami Valley Gaming & Racing in Turtlecreek Township, and the River Downs in Anderson Township.