Casino Gambling Fiscal Reports
Spending by gamblers in Kansas City and elsewhere flattened out in May.
?We are seeing a bit of a slowdown? industrywide, Merrill Lynch gaming analyst David Anders warned investors last week.
Locally, riverboat revenues were up just 1.2 percent from May 2005, at $57.8 million. Though modest, that gain was stronger than the 1 percent average growth statewide at Missouri?s 11 riverboat casinos. And May still ranked as the market?s 12th largest month on record.
Markets elsewhere stumbled through similarly soft May performances. St. Louis was down 0.6 percent, Detroit was up 1.1 percent, Indiana was up 1.4 percent, and Atlantic City was up 2.9 percent. Results were stronger in Illinois, up 5 percent, and Iowa, up 7.5 percent. Mississippi was down 18.3 percent in May, as coastal casinos continue to rebuild and recover from Hurricane Katrina.
With its $21.1 million May, local market leader Ameristar Kansas City Casino and Hotel slipped about one-third of a point in market share, but it still posted its 15th consecutive month above $20 million. It took Kansas City?s largest casino more than seven years to hit that milestone, in March 2004, but it hasn?t looked back much since then.
As for the soft May, ?it could be a lot of things ? gas prices, the economy,? said Ameristar vice president Troy Stremming.
?We?ve had a pretty nice spring,? he added. ?People might be outside doing other things and not spending time in a casino.?
Despite the May speed bump, Stremming said he remains upbeat about the Kansas City market.
?That number used to be nowhere near $57 million,? he said. ?There has been significant growth over time. This market has matured into a very stable and profitable market.?
Ameristar?s May slippage isn?t causing any wrinkled brows in the company?s executive suites.
?When you?re at 36 percent market share and $20 million plus in revenues, that?s a good problem to have,? Stremming said.
Averages statewide were dragged down by Kansas City?s Isle of Capri Casino, where revenues fell 16 percent, to $7.4 million, and by the President and Ameristar St. Charles casinos in the St. Louis market, which each dropped around 3 percent.
One of Missouri big gainers was Harrah?s North Kansas City Casino and Hotel, up 10 percent from May a year ago with its $15.9 million month. That double-digit gain, however, was inflated compared with May 2005, which was one of the casino?s weakest months in years, coming during a disruptive period of remodeling and expansion that wrapped up last fall.
June 23, 2006
Posted By Guy Akers
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
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