Detroit Casinos Up 5% to $112M in September

The Michigan Gaming Control Board has released its latest gambling results for Detroit, revealing that the city’s three licensed casinos generated revenues of $112.2 million in September. While that figure was 3.2% lower than the previous month, it still represented a solid 5.1% gain versus the same month in 2015.
Seeing the biggest growth and year-on-year revenue gains in September was MGM Grand Detroit up by 7.2% to 48.5 million; followed by MotorCity Casino up 3.6% to $37 million; and Greektown up 0.3% to $26.7 million. Consequently, MGM Grand Detroit now commands a 43% share of the city’s overall casino market, followed by MotorCity (33%), and Greektown (24%).
The Detoit casinos subsequently paid Michigan state $9.1 million by way of gaming taxes, as well as $17.8 million in wagering taxes, and development agreement payments.
With September having completed the third quarter of results for 2016, MGM Grand Detroit’s Q3 figures are currently higher by 9.1% at $150 million; MotorCity is up 3.5% to $115.4 million; and Greektown is up by a slight 0.5% to $81.1 million.
Furthermore, casino revenues for the first nine months of 2016 are currently higher by 1.7% at $1.046 billion versus the first nine months of 2015. Last year, Detroit generated total revenues of $1.38 billion, representing its first year-over-year revenue gain since 2011, and its best result since 2012, the year when Ohio began opening up its own gambling establishments. Over the past few years, Ohio’s gambling industry has now expanded to include four land-based casinos, and seven Racinos, with the increased competition having contributed to Detroit’s waning fortunes.
In 2015, however, falling gas prices and a recovering economy helped Detroit’s casinos buck the downward trend and produce extra revenues for a city which went bankrupt in July, 2013. As Alex Calderone, managing director of Calderone Advisory Group, commented at the time:
“This is a business that is dependent almost entirely on discretionary income. Money that’s not spent at the pump is money that can be spent at the casino.”