Casino earnings in Indiana are a mixed bag. In June, Hard Rock Northern Indiana won $33.1 million compared to $36.3 million in May and $28.2 million in April. While the average win remains around $450,000 per casino, some are seeing a big drop off. In the past two years, Indiana has been a hotbed of casino earnings, but that is about to change. In a new report, the state’s casino industry is showing signs of a decline.
Since the start of the recession, Atlantic City’s casino earnings have increased, though they are still below pre-pandemic levels. Two of the nine casinos, Resorts and Golden Nugget, recorded profits of over $100 million in 2021, but lost almost $6 million in the same period. The two newest Atlantic City casinos were responsible for most of the increase in earnings. Combined, the casinos’ performance in 2021 was also above that of the previous year.
While Las Vegas casinos generate upwards of $4 billion in revenue annually, smaller operators earn just a few hundred million. In fiscal 2017, Las Vegas casinos made an average of $1.8 million a day. Of this, 634.5K was from gaming bets and rented rooms. The remaining $302K comes from food and beverages served and $143,000 from other services. And the casinos in Atlantic City earned a combined $11.1 million compared with just under $600,000 during the same period in 2017.
Other metrics that influence casino earnings include dwell time and net gaming revenue (NGR). These are the key performance indicators for a casino. Dwell time is the percentage of time a player spends on a casino’s site. The longer the dwell time, the greater the casino’s overall revenue. And don’t forget to measure churn, or the percentage of players who left a casino. The lower the churn rate, the better for the casino.
While there are varying ways to measure the success of a casino, Las Vegas Sands is among the most transparent companies in this regard. The company releases monthly data about slot hold percentage and mass and VIP volume, as well as the number of slot wins. The numbers are also used to estimate how much cash the casino will spend on new casino openings. In this way, the casino can gauge its profitability and plan for growth. In this way, casino earnings will continue to rise even if the casino’s slot revenue declines.
As the state continues to recover from Hurricane Harvey, Louisiana’s casino industry is poised for a big boom in the coming years. According to the Louisiana Gaming Control Board, sports betting will bring in more than $30 million per year to Louisiana’s economy. A portion of this will go towards early childhood education and the local government. Some casinos have already adapted mobile betting apps, such as Caesars, BetRivers and MGM. And with the increase in smartphone betting, Louisiana will soon have horse racing venues.
Last year, MGM Resorts International (MGM) reported its best quarterly operating results in Las Vegas since reopening in 2016. Despite this record-breaking performance, the company’s consolidated net revenues decreased by 27% from the previous quarter, largely due to the pandemic that shut down the Strip during midweek. The number of visitors to Las Vegas declined by 27% compared to April 2019. Although, the casino industry is still poised for growth in Las Vegas.
