Business is booming for Penn National Gaming in the Buckeye State. Not only are its two casinos up 5.5% from last year — 4% at Hollywood Toledo and 7% at former 
underachiever Hollywood Columbus — but it continues to get impressive per-slot bang for its bucks at its racinos. By contrast, Dan Gilbert‘s two Horseshoe-branded casinos are slumping (-5%), with Horseshoe Cleveland falling behind Hollywood Columbus for the highest gross in the state. Hard Rock Rocksino (+18%), meanwhile, has zoomed past Gilbert’s ThistleDown Racino (down 8%) and into third place. (Is it mere coincidence that regional casinos owned or managed by Caesars Entertainment have seen a worsening of their financial performance since the company entered bankruptcy?) The only blemish in Hollywood Columbus‘ performance was that Eldorado Resorts‘ Scioto Downs (up 8%) beat it on a per-slot basis, thanks in large part to tighter hold.
Since they outnumber casinos seven to four (but don’t offer table games), it’s no surprise 
that Ohio racinos have a bigger aggregate gross than the casinos do, even if the latter have been in the market longer. Not to be forgotten, Pinnacle Entertainment‘s Belterra Park — a terrible underachiever at first — continues to nudge upward, averaging $141/slot/day, $200 being the industry average, a number that most Ohio gambling houses exceed. An apples-to-apples comparison shows Ohio gaming revenues to be up 3% from last year, continuing to prove that, as in Maryland, the industry has found a regional market that isn’t sated.
* Since the NBA and Las Vegas are like matter and anti-matter, a California group is trying a different means of bringing professional roundball to Sin City. They’re proposing a league for “one and done” players who would otherwise be using college a mere stepping stone to the big leagues. However, as the plan is contingent on importing 35 European teams to compete against the “Las Vegas Dealers” and sending the latter on a road trip across the Atlantic for 15 games, the concept isn’t one that will have Vegas sports books scrambling to post betting lines on the Dealers.
* Thrilllist.com is obsessed with Las Vegas to an extent that suggests too much time spent watching every Vegas-related show on TV. For their gambling expert, however, the site has found the only living person who still plays at Caesars Windsor.
* Add Portugal to the list of nations that have legalized regulated Internet gambling, even as U.S. lawmakers continue to bury their heads in the sand.
