Nevada state gaming revenue reached $859million in August and in the process failed to hit the heights of the previous month. Revenues for statewide dropped 3 percent with the strip daring slightly better with a drop of just 1.2 percent to $491m. Even though this was the case, the Nevada Gaming Control Board reported a rise of 5.2 percent in tax revenue to $50m. Last month set tongues wagging and people suggesting that the state was returning to its heyday. It’s safe to say any optimism has now been extinguished.
An upcoming casino referendum in Maryland has become the most expensive in the state’s history. We reported earlier this week that Penn National Gaming had spent $18 million in their attempts to defeat Question 7 – which asks voters if they want another casino in Prince George’s County and more table games at other casinos. Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that a pro-gambling committee, including some $14.4m forked out by MGM Resorts International, has spent another $17.7m. That makes $35.7m and eclipses the record held by Democrat Martin O’Malley and Republican Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., that saw the former win the race for the Governor’s office. The money on the Question 7 campaign has been spend on advertising campaigns from either side and early indications are that a new casino is unlikely to get the yay sway from voters.
Ohio’s casino saw wagers drop 5 percent in September as the state welcomed the opening of its latest casino. It represented the third successive month that revenues have dropped as the combined wagers at the Toledo and Cleveland venues were $331.8 million. Toledo fared worse with a drop of 9 percent in wagers to $152.9m with the drop for Cleveland just 1.5 percent to $178.7m.
