Ohio’s gaming market may be saturated, with a total of 11 casinos and racinos in the Buckeye State.
That’s the opinion of Jay Masurekar, head of Gaming and Travel Investment Banking at KeyBanc Capital Markets in Cleveland, who recently discussed Ohio’s gaming industry, which officially was created in 2012, when the voters amended the state constitution to allow four casino resorts in the state’s largest cities. A few years later the governor on his own authority allowed the state’s seven racetracks to add Video Lottery Terminals, making them into racinos.
This created a highly competitive environment between the casinos resorts and the racinos.
Masurekar told the Cleveland Plain Dealer “Ohio has been doing pretty well but I don’t think it requires 11 properties. One or two may drop off at some point – there will be winners and losers in any market.” He speculated that the reason there are still so many casinos is that they are owned by large corporations. “If they stood alone they would have shut down by now or filed for bankruptcy,” he said.
Without naming names, Masurekar said that hands on management is the key to a successful casino
The properties in Ohio are divided between Penn National Gaming, with casinos and racinos in Columbus, Toledo, Youngstown and Dayton; Jack Entertainment, which owns casinos and one casino in Cleveland, Cincinnati and Thistledown; Hard Rock Rocksino in Northfield Park and Pinnacle Entertainment, with one racino in Cincinnati; Eldorado Resorts Inc., with a racino in Columbus and Delaware North Gaming & Entertainment, which owns a racino in Lebanon. All of these companies own many gaming companies and other businesses.
Masurekar said the gaming industry in Ohio and elsewhere is changing as customers demand more non-gaming amenities. This means that gaming is also competing with restaurants, other hospitality companies, and retail.
Masurekar predicts that Ohio’s seven racinos may eventually get a shot in the arm by the legalization of table games, since this would mean more revenue for the state.
If that happens, that makes it a level playing field for all 11 properties to compete against each other. Then it will be a survival of the fittest situation.
