The Michigan Gaming Control Board reported $104.9 million in total gaming revenue from its three Detroit casinos for August on Tuesday, with casino revenue practically flat compared to last year.
The venues produced $104.6 million in casino gaming revenue, an increase of less than $100,000 compared to last August. Greektown Casino continued its banner year, with revenue ticking 11.7% higher against August 2022. MGM Grand and MotorCity Casino had small year-over-year declines, with MGM Grand down 1.7% and MotorCity off 5%.
Retail sports wagering continued to be notably lighter compared to last year. The $10 million-plus handle was down 8.8% compared to last August and steepened the year-to-date decline to 46.8%. The city’s three brick-and-mortar sportsbooks have accepted $99.8 million in wagers through the first eight months of the year, compared to $187.4 million for the same period in 2022.
Many of the wagers they did accept were winners for the public. The trio combined to post a 3.3% hold to claim $327,291 in gross revenue. It was the fifth time this year the retail sports betting win rate was below 4%, and the year-to-date hold is 3.4%, as operators have collected $3.4 million in gross revenue.
The state raked in close to $8.5 million in tax revenue, while the city of Detroit’s levy came to nearly $16.5 million. Michigan coffers have seen an inflow of nearly $69.2 million in 2023, while the $109.6 million in taxes for the city thus far in 2023 is $4.7 million more than last year.
Greektown lone locale posting gains versus 2022
Greektown’s adjusted revenue of $24.4 million was an increase of $2.5 million compared to August 2022. The PENN Entertainment venue has posted gains of 14.6% in year-to-date revenue versus 2022 with nearly $194.8 million through the first eight months. Greektown’s August total was 3.7% lower than the $25.3 million accrued in July.
MGM Grand continued to be the marketplace leader for revenue, with its $49.5 million for August accounting for 47% of the total market share. In addition to it being a small decline when stacked against 2022, the August figure was 1.1% lower in contrast to July, as MGM Grand was denied back-to-back months with $50 million in revenue. Its $400.7 million in year-to-date revenue is 1.7% lower than the first eight months of 2022.
MotorCity cleared $30 million in casino revenue for the 18th consecutive month, finishing nearly $725,000 ahead of that benchmark. Its August total was 2.1% off from July’s $31.4 million, and the $258.2 million in revenue this year is 4.3% lower than the same period after the first two-thirds of 2022.
Greektown’s gains have been just enough to offset the losses of MGM Grand and MotorCity in terms of total year-to-date revenue. The three have combined to generate $853.7 million in winnings, which is 0.8% higher than the same period in 2022.
PENN retail sportsbook continues choppy 2023
Greektown Casino’s sportsbook, which has begun the process of pivoting away from Barstool and towards ESPN BET following PENN’s stunning move in August, has long been the bellcow of retail sports wagering handle in Michigan. Getting that handle, though, has not always produced revenue for the house. August was a case in point, as PENN finished with a 0.9% hold on $4.8 million handle, resulting in less than $41,000 in revenue.
It was the third time this year Greektown had a monthly hold under 1%, but it also has had three months with win rates of 10.8% or higher. The casino has a 7.5% hold overall for the year, with its $3.2 million in revenue tops among the three brick-and-mortar venues.
MotorCity avoided a fourth losing month in five, as the FanDuel-powered sportsbook claimed slightly more than $201,000 in revenue off $2.8 million worth of wagers. The solid month moved MotorCity’s year-to-date loss for gross revenue under $1 million, though the adjusted gross revenue is still minus-$1.1 million.
MGM Grand had its third consecutive month with a hold below the 7% industry standard, landing at 3.5% for August after keeping barely more than $85,000 from $2.4 million worth of wagers. The retail arm of BetMGM has a 4.1% overall hold for 2023, resulting in $1.2 million in gross revenue from $29.5 million handle.
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