Although it’s got one foot out the door in Ohio, the management half of Rock Gaming Caesars, i.e., Caesars Entertainment, is starting to shore up the recent decline of its casinos in the Buckeye State. Horseshoe Cincinnati and 
Horseshoe Cleveland both inched past Hard Rock Rocksino by the tiniest of margins. ThistleDown Racetrack, however, seems a lost cause — pending Dan Gilbert‘s upcoming $70 million capex infusion — grossing only $8 million. Hollywood Columbus, however, put everyone in the shade with a $17 million gross (+3%), even when averaging only $173/slot/day. Despite doing an industry-average $196/slot/month, Hollywood Toledo grossed just $14 million.
Horseshoe Cincinnati grossed $16.5 million (+4.5%), with Horseshoe Cleveland (+1.5%) just behind and Hard Rock Rocksino a decimal point behind the Cleveland ‘Shoe, despite a 12% revenue increase. One of the biggest gainers in the market was Eldorado Resorts‘ Scioto Downs, up 14% for a $12 million gross. Despite a sickly $136/slot/day, Pinnacle Entertainment‘s Belterra Park ($5 million) grew revenues 21% from last year. Miami Valley Gaming ($10 million) was up 11%, while business continued to flourish at Hollywood Dayton (+8%) and Hollywood Austintown (5%). Their win/slot/day averages continue to lead the state, at $228 and $260, respectively.
* The Boston Globe reports that Penn National Gaming‘s Plainridge Park is indeed having an effect on Twin River Casino and on tribal casinos in Connecticut: It’s forcing them to loosen their slots. “We always monitor payout percentages to ensure that we stay competitive in the market,” said Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority President Bobby Soper. Good thinking.
* Regulators in Massachusetts are perplexed by the 19% increase in the cost of MGM Springfield. Although the casino-hotel is going to be considerably smaller, its budget has increased dramatically. “Show us some particulars. Or tell us it was a colossal budget error. The numbers are just so big. It does not make sense to me,” said Massachusetts Gaming Commission Chairman Stephen Crosby.
Indeed, it seems unlike MGM to be so far off the mark in its calculations. It has gone from $1,000 per square foot to $1,300. “We’re not trying to be elusive on the answers,” said project President Michael Mathis, while trying to keep proprietary data under wraps. Without the changes, he said, MGM would be looking at a billion-dollar project. But, with completion three years hence, what are the odds against additional cost creep? MGM continues to insist that its new, low-rise plan, minus the dramatic hotel tower, is better and that the cost overrun is due to inflation since June 2014, which must have been pretty dramatic. Some Springfield city fathers continue to oppose the project changes but the MGC will keep its powder dry until January.
