Louisiana Casino Revenue Looks To Recover After Hurricanes
@B_DEROUIN
Recent hardships from the coronavirus pandemic and hurricane closures have continued to affect Louisiana casinos.
The riverboat casino revenue came in at $94,344,809 for September, down 16.6% from August’s $113,162,444. Year-over-year, September 2020 was 29.4% down from the $133,705,275 in September 2019, according to figures posted Wednesday by the Louisiana Gaming Control Board.
RELATED: Check out all Top US online casinos
The decrease in the year-over-year numbers can be attributed to closures from the coronavirus pandemic, which hit facilities around the country, and tropical storms and hurricanes. Diamondbacks riverboat casino in Bossier City has also closed.
It’s the second consecutive sharp drop for Louisiana’s riverboat casinos after August’s revenue was down 17.4% at $113,162,444 compared to July’s $136,984,253.
Hurricane Affects Popular Casinos
Margaritaville Casino was the top riverboat casino in September with $14,949,991 revenue, up about $1.7 million from August. L’Auberge Baton Rouge recorded $12,947,498 in revenue, which was a slight increase from August. The Horseshoe Casino had the biggest growth from last month with revenue up nearly $2.85 million up to $12,551,709.
The Isle Lake Charles casino remains closed due to damage caused by Hurricane, which struck the state on Aug. 27. According to the state report, casino gambling was “outstanding” before the hurricane hit.
Golden Nugget and L’Auberge Lake Charles reopened on Sept. 11 after being closed for part of the month. Treasure Chest closed on Sept. 14-15 with Hurricane Sally approaching, the report said.
The one land-based casino, Harrah’s New Orleans, recorded September revenue of $13,747,783, an increase from August’s $11,792,041 but was down from the September 2019 mark of $24,111,489. Harrah’s has been operating at 50% capacity due to coronavirus limitations.
Video Gaming Up Slightly
Video gaming revenue continued to grow, reporting an increase of 1.8% to $54.5 million in September compared to $53.5 million in August. September’s 2020 total was up 13.4% compared to September 2019.
The Delta Downs Racetrack in Vinton reopened on Sept. 16 after being closed due to the hurricane. Still, Delta Downs led the four racinos with $5.8 million adjusted gross revenue. Evangaline Downs tallied $5.7 million for the month.
Total revenue at the racinos in September was $17.9 million, a decrease of $5.7 million and 24% from August’s $23.6 million. Year-over-year, racino revenue was $7.6 million, down 29.9%, from September 2019.
Contributors
Bryce joined TopUSCasinos.com after spending the last nine years covering high school and college sports throughout Michigan. He’s served as the primary Division II beat writer for Grand Valley State and Michigan Tech. Along with his newspaper background, he's worked in marketing and recently co-founded Upbeat — the Upper Peninsula of Michigan’s first subscription-based prep sports website. His favorite sports to gamble on are football, basketball, baseball and Formula 1.
