The drop in regional casino market revenue in Illinois will likely continue, according to recently released Illinois Gaming Board figures. The latest report indicated a 10.8 percent year-to-year decrease in gaming revenues in June to 7 million. Results were down 9.7 percent from May to June. Analysts said the markets face no meaningful prospects or triggers for growth. SB 1739, the expanded gambling bill, failed to come to a vote in the last legislative session. Also, intense storms and flooding in April affected the Chicagoland area.
Midwest Gaming & Entertainment’s Rivers Casino held its lead share in the Chicagoland market as well as in the state, even though revenue fell percent in June to $33.9 million, off by 10.3 percent from May. For the Chicagoland market as a whole, revenue decreased 10.5 percent from June 2013 to June 2014, down 14.6 percent when Rivers is excluded.
After a relatively strong showing in May, revenues at Harrah’s Joliet experienced fell the most, down 16.6 percent to $14.1 million. East St. Louis-area revenue was down 8.2 percent from June 2013 to June 2014,
An improvement over its sharp drop of 15.6 percent year-to-year in May.
Penn National Gaming’s three Illinois properties showed a combined drop in revenue of 9.3 percent to $25.5 million. Caesars Entertainment’s two Illinois properties were down a combined 14.7 percent to $20.8 million on a year-to-year basis. And Boyd’s Par-A-Dice revenue fell 16.0 percent to $7.6 million.
