2014 Summary and Predictions for 2015 – Part 2 (The Numbers)

2014 revenues for commercial casinos and racinos in the nine southeastern states.

Alabama and North Carolina do not have commercial casinos or racinos, only Native American casinos. Native American Gaming revenues for 2014 are not available for several months, so we will review those states later. Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee do not have casinos or racinos. Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi do have commercial casinos and racinos, and their 2014 calendar year revenues are detailed below.

These are some interesting Revenue reports. Stay tuned to Part 3 of my 2014 summary and predictions blog series, where I’ll provide some commentary on each state…

Arkansas Revenues (in $millions)

 Revenues are the combined slot revenues for calendar years for Oaklawn Jockey Club and Casino and Southland Greyhound Park and Casino. Year-over-Year percentage increases or decreases in revenues are also provided.

2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2010 - 2014
$ 60.8	122.1	181.0	214.9	233.7	+$ 172.9
	+100.8%	+ 48.2%	+ 18.7%	+ 8.8%	+ 284.4%

Source: Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration, Electronic Games of Skill Revenue Reports

 Florida Revenues (in $millions) 

Revenues shown are the combined slot revenues for calendar years for racinos in Florida detailed in Part 1 of this report. Year-over-Year Percentage increases or decreases in revenues are also provided.

2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2010 - 2014
$ 329.1	381.1	427.9	467.6	505.5	+$176.4
	+ 15.8%	+ 12.3%	+ 19.6%	+ 8.1%	+ 53.6%

Source: UNLV Center for Gaming Research, Florida Racinos Monthly Slot Revenues

Louisiana Revenues (in $millions)

Revenues shown are the combined gaming revenues for the 20 commercial casinos and racinos in the four regions of Louisiana. Year-over-Year increases and decreases in revenues are also provided.

Region 1 - New Orleans Region

2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2010 - 2014
$ 692.4	681.2	675.2	657.6	648.1	-$44.3
	-1.6%	-0.9%	-2.6%	-1.4%	-6.5%

Region 2 - Lake Charles Region

2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2010 - 2014
$ 638.4	672.6	676.6	679.7	719.6	+$81.2
	+ 5.4%	+ 0.6%	+ 0.5%	+ 5.9%	+ 12.7%

Note: The Golden Nugget Casino and Hotel opened for business in December 2014

Region 3 –Shreveport/Bossier City Region

2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2010 - 2014
$ 760.4	732.7	713.3	737.3	740.2	-$20.2
	-3.6%	-2.7%	3.4%	0.4%	-2.7%

Note: Margaritaville Casino and Hotel opened for business in June 2013

Region 4 – Baton Rouge Region

2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2010 - 2014
$ 282.5	286.7	327.9	378.4	367.4	+$84.9
	+ 1.5%	+14.4%	+15.4%	-2.9%	+ 30.1%

 Note - L’auberge, Baton Rouge opened for business in September 2012

Total Louisiana 4 Region – 20 casino/racino totals

2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2010 - 2014
$ 2,378.8	2,373.20	2,393.10	2,452.90	2,475.40	+ $96.6
	-0.2%	+ 0.8%	+ 2.5%	+ 0.9%	+ 4.1%

Source: Louisiana Gaming Control Board Revenue Reports

Mississippi Revenues (in millions)

 Mississippi commercial casino revenues are reported as gaming revenues for Gulf Coast Counties and Mississippi River Counties. In addition to revenues reported we have provided Year-over-Year increases or decreases for each group

Gulf Coast Counties Region

2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2010 - 2014
$1,106.5	1,096.7	1,094.8	1,064.3	1,079.4	- $27.1
	- 0.9%	- 0.2%	- 2.8%	+ 1.4%	- 2.5%

Mississippi River Counties Region

2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2010 - 2014
$ 1,282.5	1,142.4	1,156.3	1,072.3	988.5	- $ 294.0
	-10.9%	+ 1.2%	- 7.3%	- 7.81%	- 22.9%

Note – Harrah’s Tunica Closed in January 2014

Total Mississippi Gaming Revenues

2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2010 - 2014
$ 2,389.0	2,239.1	2,251.1	2,136.6	2,067.9	- $321.1
	-6.30%	- 0.5%	- 5.1%	- 3.2%	- 13.4%

Source: Mississippi Gaming Control Board Revenue Reports

Total Commercial Casino and Racino Revenues for the Southeastern U.S. (in $millions)

	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2010 - 2014
Arkansas	$60.8	122.1	181.0	214.9	233.7	+ $172.9
Florida	$329.1	381.1	427.9	467.6	505.5	+ $176.4
Louisiana	$2,378.8	2,373.2	2,393.1	2,452.9	2,475.4	+ $96.6
Mississippi	$2,389.0	2,239.1	2,251.1	2,136.6	2,067.9	- 321.1
Total	$5,157.7	5,115.5	5,253.1	5,268.0	5,282.5	+ $124.8

2014 Summary and 2015 Predictions

Notes and Observations on Casinos and Racinos in the 9 Southeastern States - Part 1

Alabama – 3 casinos total: All are owned and operated by the Poarch Creek Band of Creek Indians and their subsidiaries. They provide Class II gaming at their Atmore facility plus upgraded facilities at Montgomery and Wetumpka. The Poarch Creek Tribe Casinos had a good year in 2014 and anticipate business to be about the same for 2015. Although their two upgraded facilities could be negatively affected by the new Cherokee facility in Murphy, North Carolina anticipated to open in 2015.  No new Alabama casinos or racinos are projected for 2015.

Arkansas – 2 racinos total: Oaklawn Jockey Club with hhoroughbred horse racing and Sunnyland Greyhound Park Racing.  Both are well-established. We will publish their 2014 revenues in Part 2 of this blog, but we anticipate business to be about the same in 2015. No new Arkansas casinos or racinos are projected for 2015.

Florida – 15 casinos and racinos total: Seven casinos owned by the Seminole Tribe and one owned by the Miccosukee Tribe, plus seven commercial, non-Indian racinos in Dade and Broward Counties. 2014 saw expansion of the Seminole Immokalee facility with a new hotel under construction and improvements in all others. Miccosukee Facilities remained steady.

Racinos were mixed with the four thoroughbred sites doing well and we witnessed strong attendance in our visits to each of the sites last year. Hialeah Park Racetrack and Casino officially opened in late 2013 and had a strong 2014. The two greyhound racinos claim to have struggled with their racing business during 2014, and we saw evidence of this in our 2014 visits there.

One Jai Alai racino opened and closed in 2014; the other Miami Casino Jai Alai also claims to have struggled during 2014. We observed this during our visit there and also heard evidence of this at the Florida Gaming Congress meeting in November. Revenues for the Florida racinos will be published in Part 2 of this blog. 

2015 should see the Seminole empire march on with improvements, facilities plans and upgrades at Hialeah and Pompano Park while all others remain about the same. No new casinos or racinos are projected for Florida in 2015.

One key item to watch in 2015 -- the Federal Recognition of the Muscogee nation of Florida located in the Florida Panhandle is scheduled for their preliminary findings March 31, 2015 by the Office of Federal Recognition, Bureau of Indian Affairs. If the finding is positive, there are remaining steps prior to the tribe pursuing gaming.  We will

Georgia – No casinos or racinos. However, Georgia legislators have had continued discussions regarding casinos in Georgia casino activities during 2014.  While there are no Federally Recognized Indian Tribes in Georgia, the Georgia Tribe of Eastern Cherokees has petitioned the Bureau of Indian Affairs and is under review with no proposed findings dates announced. I anticipate that Georgia Legislators will continue casino discussions throughout 2015 in light of the addition of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Murphy, North Carolina facility scheduled to open in 2015 two hours from downtown Atlanta and the prospects of Federal Recognition being granted to the Georgia Cherokee Tribe. No new casinos or racinos are projected to open in 2015.

Louisiana – 24 casinos and racinos total: Four Casinos owned by Louisiana Indian Tribes, sixteen commercial casinos owned privately or by Wall Street firms, and four racinos all Wall Street-owned at year-end 2014.

First, the four tribal casinos: Jena’s casino is a small casino favorite of mine.  Visits there saw good local crowds on the gaming floor and their restaurant buffet.  The Coushatta in Kinder, Louisiana near the Lake Charles area is continuing to expand with a large new hotel. Coushatta has a number of activities in addition to their large gaming platform. Next, the Paragon owned by the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe has reduced its slots by removing slots from one of the gaming floor areas during 2014. Most notable was the significant reduction in hours of operation and closing of half of the facilities at Cypress Bayou during 2014. Our stay there was disappointing following our outstanding 2013 visit to their restaurant area and casino activity.

On the commercial side, the Shreveport/BossierCity market saw a significant change with the introduction of Margaritaville Casino and Hotel in 2013. They have captured nearly 20 percent of the market since opening in 2013 leaving two others struggling for existence.  I predict that one casino in this market will close its business during 2015. I also predict that Harrah’s Louisiana Downs, part of the Caesars empire, will be acquired by Boyd Gaming or Churchill Downs. 

The Lake Charles market saw the opening of the new Golden Nugget in December 2014. No doubt this will bring a change to that market and perhaps the Baton Rouge market. We’ll update our notes following the publication of revenues in February.  The Baton Rouge market was steady; all of the facilities looked good during our 2014 visits. 

Finally, the New Orleans market had an expansion at Boomtown with the construction of a new hotel facility.  Harrah’s New Orleans continues to dominate the market asa great facility in the middle of all of the New Orleans action.  Churchill Downs Fairground Racetrack Casino had small but steady revenues and has great future potential. And the Treasure Chest Casino in Kenner at Lake Pontchatrain is another of my small casino favorites…neat, clean with very steady revenues.  We will report soon on 2014 revenues.  We’ll see what 2015 brings with the addition of the Golden Nugget and other expansions. I am projecting one closure during the 2015 and no new racinos or casinos during 2015. Stay tuned.

Mississippi – 30 casinos and racinos total: Three of the thirty are owned by the Choctaw Tribe of Mississippi and the remaining 27 are commercial casinos owned by Wall Street and private companies.  There are no racinos in Mississippi. Mississippi commercial casino revenue reports are divided into two groups, the “Gulf Coast Counties” (Biloxi area and three casinos west of Biloxi) and River Counties casinos include the Tunica area casinos south to Natchez 16 casinos in this group). Each area had one closure.  Tunica had the closing of Harrah’s casino complex and Margaritaville in Biloxi closed.  On the upside, the Golden Nugget had a $200 million expansion and upgrade and the Silver Slipper expanded its facility and has a new hotel under construction. Both are Gulf Coast County facilities.

On the Indian Casino side, the Choctaw Golden Moon facility is used for entertainment and hotel guests, but the gaming areas remain closed. The Silver Star across the street from the Golden Moon has the complete gaming area open for business.

Overall, 2014 commercial casino revenues through November show gaming revenues up slightly in the Gulf Coast area and down over 7 percent in the River Counties region.  We will provide full twelve month revenues when they are available later this month. Among the favorites: In Tunica, MGM’s Goldstrike and the next door Horseshoe Complex are outstanding. Another River County favorite, and one with great potential is the Riverwalk in Vicksburg.  MGM’s Beau Rivage and the Imperial Palace are outstanding facilities and operations in Biloxi along with one of my favorites, The Palace, a non-smoking boutique casino.  I predict that the revenues for all areas will remain close to the same in 2015 with another casino closing in the Tunica area and the possibility of a new casino facility beginning construction plus the expansion of the Island View in the Gulfport area.

North Carolina – 1 casino:Owned by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. This beautiful, large casino hotel complex is operated by Harrah’s. The entire town of Cherokee revolves around the casino/hotel, the EBCI headquarters, the Tribe’s Museum, a large Bingo facility and their famous outdoor amphitheater where their history is presented in “Unto These Hills.”  The Tribe has a second site in under construction in Murphy, North Carolina. This new facility will feature 60,000 square feet of gaming space with slots and traditional table games, a 300-room full service hotel and a variety of dining options.  The Murphy site is two hours from Knoxville, Chattanooga and Atlanta.  It is projected to open in the first half of 2015.

South Carolina – At year-end 2014, there were no casinos or racinos in South Carolina. There is one Federally Recognized tribe in South Carolina, The Catawba Indian Nation. During 2014 and 2014 they sought to have a compact with the State of South Carolina for casino gaming but their efforts failed.  It is likely they will continue their pursuit during 2015.  

Tennessee – No casinos or racinos in Tennessee at year-end 2014.  No change anticipated during 2015.  There are no Federally Recognized Indian Tribes in Tennessee. The new Cherokee facility in Murphy plus the Tunica facilities are and will be tough competition should the Tennessee Legislators promote commercial casino gaming in Tennessee.

Part  2 of this blog will include twelve month figures for commercial casinos and racinos and economic notes discussing the projections for revenues in 2015.

Pegasus, Paddocks and Pies

November and December 2014 travel wrap-up – We visited all eight Florida Casinos, and seven racinos plus Tampa Bay Downs Thoroughbred Racetrack for a total of sixteen.  In addition, we attended the two day Florida Gaming Congress meeting where we saw live racing at all the racetracks and live Jai Alai in Miami.

The best racino: I’m very partial to Thoroughbred horse racing racinos so this was a tough call, but Gulfstream Park in Hallandale is a magnificent facility located in an incredible market. We were there on a beautiful South Florida day, saw great races plus all of the excitement and pageantry that goes with thoroughbred horse racing. Gulfstream’s unique and beautiful paddock has a large seating area for the pre-race review of the horses and jockeys.  Oh yes…there is a casino. A very nice one, with easy access from the Paddock and racecourse finish line stands.

The unique gaming facility overlooks the stands and racecourse

And now there is Pegasus, a 110-foot-high steel sculpture that greets visitors at the Gulfstream entryway.  For those who haven’t been there, it’s the racino to see – check the calendar so you attend on a live race day.

Pegasus at the entryway
(check out the bulldozer in the lower left for perspective)

The other three Florida thoroughbred racetrack casinos are Hialeah Park, Calder and Pompano Park.  Each has excellent facilities, outstanding casino and racetrack, paddock areas and operations. Each of the three also has substantial land for future development. I believe they will all play into the future of Florida destination resorts.  I recommend a race day visit to each.

The best casino: It’s a tie between Hard Rock, Tampa and Hard Rock, Hollywood. They’re among the top ten that I review across all nine southeastern states.  In addition, the ever-growing Seminole empire has a hotel under construction at its Immokalee casino.  I am impressed too with the Coconut Creek Casino. 

The most memorable taste of Florida was the kumquat pie at the Seminole Chief Billie Swamp Water Café in the Clewiston Casino. 

Kumquat pie at the Swamp Water Cafe is worth the stop