March was a mixed bag for the riverboat gaming industry in Illinois as the Midwestern state’s ten floating casinos reported a 3.14% increase year-on-year in aggregated gross gaming revenues to $130.67 million despite a 2.2% decline in overall admissions for the month to just over 1.06 million.
According to official figures released by the Illinois Gaming Board, leading the way was the Rivers Casino Des Plains as its March revenues grew by 4.6% year-on-year to reach $38.93 million although the 43,687 sq ft property run by Midwest Gaming and Entertainment saw visitor numbers decline by 3.7% to 272,083.
In the face of a 2.7% drop year-on-year in monthly takings to $16.31 million, the 39,000 sq ft Harrah’s Joliet, which is operated by Caesars Entertainment Corporation, was able to maintain its place as the second most popular casino in Illinois although admissions decreased by 4.1% to 123,282. In third spot in terms of March revenues was the 29,850 sq ft Grand Victoria Casino Elgin, which is run by MGM Resorts International in partnership with Hyatt Hotels Corporation, as takings improved by almost 5.7% year-on-year to $16.05 million helped by an approximate 6% swell in admissions to 123,093.
However, the month’s biggest mover in terms of revenues was the Hollywood Casino Aurora as the 41,384 sq ft Penn National Gaming Incorporated facility posted an 18.5% rise year-on-year to $12.38 million while visitor numbers escalated by 10.5% to reach 95,282. Its sister Hollywood Casino Joliet is the largest Illinois casino in terms of area courtesy of a 50,000 sq ft gaming floor and the facility on the banks of the Des Plains River reported a 3.2% boost year-on-year in March revenues to $11.39 million while admissions ascended by 0.8% to 96,890.
Continuing the good news, the 24,269 sq ft Harrah’s Metropolis saw its March revenues increase by 3.5% year-on-year to $7.27 million although the facility on the banks of the Ohio River reported a 16.3% drop in visitor numbers to 48,321.A similar situation was reported by the Casino Queen in East St Louis as the 40,000 sq ft venue revealed a 1.1% boost year-on-year in March revenues to $9.92 million despite a 3.6% drop in admissions to 103,423.
But the news was not altogether good for the Par-A-Dice Hotel And Casino as the 26,116 sq ft East Peoria casino saw its March revenues plummet by 8.6% year-on-year to $7.35 million thanks to a nearly 10.2% crash in visitor numbers to 74,126. Similarly, the Argosy Casino Alton saw March takings from its 23,000 sq ft casino decline by 0.4% year-on-year to $4.59 million while admissions fell off by over 1.4% to 46,492.
Finally, the Jumer’s Casino And Hotel outside of Rock Island reported a 1.1% decrease year-on-year in revenues for its 42,300 sq ft casino to $6.45 million while visitor numbers plunged by 3.7% to 81,736.
