Casino and racino revenues in Ohio were up nicely last month, +6.5%. We’re still at least a month away from having a full set of 
year/year comparisons but Gov. John Kasich‘s decision to supersize a four-casinos-only constitutional amendment into four casinos and seven racinos is paying off handsomely for the Buckeye State. (Too bad he can’t use those talking points out on the campaign trail.) The overall results were about what you’d expect: Penn National Gaming up, Rock Gaming down. Among smaller operators, Eldorado Resorts‘ Scioto Downs was flat ($11 million) and Pinnacle Resorts‘ Belterra Park was way up ($6 million, +48%).
Rock Gaming doesn’t release slot/day revenue figures but all three of Dan Gilbert‘s properties continued their downward spiral, under 
the toxic managerial aegis of Caesars Entertainment. Even Horseshoe Cincinnati ($15 million) got pulled down 5%, while ThistleDown Racino continues its plunge toward the bottom ($8 million, -13%) and Horseshoe Cleveland ($16 million, -6%) is doing poorly enough to make one wonder if Gilbert is ever going to build the permanent casino he promised or continue to make do with the Higbee Building.
Hard Rock Rocksino continues to hold the top position in the state, grossing $18 million on a 21% increase in business. Hollywood Columbus ($17 million, up 9%) was somewhat below 
average in its slot/day revenues — $171 — but Hollywood Toledo banked an on-the-button $206/slot/day ($16 million, up 8%). Hollywood Dayton ($7 million) averaged $236/slot/day and Hollywood Austintown ($8 million) continues to be red-hot at $283/slot/day. It’s hard to believe that Penn stumbled out of the gate when opening its first Ohio casinos while Rock Gaming seemed to have the market all figured out. Time brings some remarkable changes.
* The Wall Street Journal‘s Andrew Browne visits Macao and finds Wynn Macau “eerily empty” on a Saturday night and looks 
largely in vain even for penny-ante players. He predicts a long and draconian corruption crackdown by Chinese President Xi Jinping, even if the consequence is to “upend an entire industry that accounts for almost all the government revenue.” A bad day in Macao is still far more lucrative than a good one in Las Vegas, but the timing of Xi’s purge is ominous for the wave of megaresorts that start coming on line late this year.
A new problem on the horizon is a bribery scandal, “involving payments to officials at the United Nations to gain support for real-
estate development in Macau.” This is all very disillusioning, Browne writes, for international investors who used to count on China for a predictable and fast-moving business climate. The current unrest has the side benefit for Xi of allowing him to sweep political rivals out of power.
But, Browne says, it’s all good: “In the long run, a cleaner business environment should lower the cost of transactions for all players, including foreign investors, and help level the playing field.” Tell that to Steve Wynn, Jim Murren and Sheldon Adelson.
