Revenue from CDI’s online division, which includes advance deposit wagering (ADW) site TwinSpires.com and social gaming site Luckity.com, was flat at $52.5m. TwinSpires’ handle rose 1.3% during the quarter, better than the industry-wide figure of 1%. TwinSpires’ operations in Illinois were silenced at the end of 2012 when the state’s ADW legislation wasn’t renewed, but the Illinois pols finally got around to reinstating the system on June 7. Stripping away the impact of Illinois’ absence, TwinSpires’ handle was up a much more healthy 7.2%. CDI recently announced a deal with Spanish gaming operator Codere to broadcast races from Mexico City’s Hipodromo de Las Américas via TwinSpires.
CDI’s brick-and-mortar casino division saw revenues rise 30% to $66.9m thanks mainly to the October 2012 acquisition of the Riverwalk Casino in Vicksburg, Mississippi, which accounted for $14.1m of Q2’s $15.5m revenue increase. Earnings at Harlows in Greenville, Mississippi were up $1m, while earnings at the Calder casino in Florida were up $500k thanks in part to “the closure of internet cafes in the state.” Casino expenses rose 30%, keeping pace with revenues, but total casino earnings still managed to rise $4.4m.
Meanwhile, those rumors that CDI was looking to buy Atlantic City’s Atlantic Club Casino-Hotel in order to participate in New Jersey’s online gambling market just won’t die. On Wednesday, the Press of Atlantic City suggested the Atlantic Club derby was now a two-way race between CDI and Philadelphia’s SugarHouse Casino, with one of these parties reportedly signing a 30-day sale agreement. Fact? Fiction? Guess we’ll know in 30 days… or less.