Ohio Casino Revenue Still Strong in May But Short of Record

May represented another strong revenue month for Ohio’s casinos and racetrack gaming facilities, even if it trailed the record figures from April in the Buckeye State.

Ohio’s 11 casinos and racinos — horse racing tracks that feature video lottery terminals — combined to collect $209,201,740 in revenue in May, the state’s best-ever total for the month. That comes on the heels of the $217.1 million in revenue recorded in April, which broke the previous state mark of $215.8 million set in March.

The Buckeye State’s four brick-and-mortar casinos combined to report $86,839,148 in total revenue for May, down 6.17% from the $92,556,028 reported during the record April, according to numbers reported by the Ohio Casino Control Commission. Of that May total, $24,618,273 in revenue came from the casinos’ combined 347 gaming tables, while $62,220,875 came from their combined 5,050 slot machines.

Ohio Casinos Continue Strong Three-Month Run

Table game handle, or drop, at Ohio’s four brick-and-mortar casinos — Hard Rock Cincinnati, Hollywood Columbus, JACK Cleveland and Hollywood Toledo — was up a slight 0.17% in May, rising to $103,505,919 from $103,330,233 in April. Handle, or coin in, at slot machines located in brick-and-mortar casinos was $760,526,137 in May, down 3.8% from the $789,939,298 collected in April.

Ohio’s seven racino facilities — Belterra Park in Cincinnati, Eldorado Gaming Scioto Downs in Columbus, MGM Northfield, Hollywood Gaming Dayton, Hollywood Mahoning Valley in Youngstown, JACK Thistledown in Cleveland and Miami Valley Gaming in Lebanon — combined for $122,362,592 in May revenue, down 1.7 percent from $124,529,077 in April, according to the Ohio Lottery. Handle, or credits played, in May was $1,300,495,717, down 1.29% from $1,317,546,298 in April.

Though the casino and racino revenue totals were down from the state-record amounts reported in March and April, they continued a strong three-month run sparked by Gov. Mike DeWine’s decision to end overnight curfews on businesses including casinos, a limit that had been in place to stem the spread of the coronavirus. May was just the third full month in which casinos have been allowed to return to 24-hour operations.

Hollywood Columbus Sets Pace

Hollywood Columbus led the state’s four casinos in May revenue, collecting a total of $23,084,630; that was down 6.8% from April. Of that May total, $5,271,081 came from the facility’s 83 table games while $17,813,549 came from its 1,494 slot machines. JACK Cleveland followed with $22,468,652 in May revenue, down 6.6% from April. The May total at JACK included $9,835,384 from 40 table games and $12,633,268 from 1,192 slots.

Hollywood Toledo reported $21,556,158 in May revenue, down 4.67% from April, with $3,283,097 in revenue coming from 69 table games and $18,273,061 coming from 1,284 slots. Hard Rock Cincinnati reported $19,729,708 in May revenue, down 7.2% from April, with $6,228,711 coming from 96 table games and $13,500,997 coming from 1,080 slots.

Meanwhile, Ohio legislators continue to debate the potential framework for a sports betting bill, even as more and more states legalize the practice. Issues over regulatory oversight and college sports betting have slowed the process, though two state senators have introduced a sports betting bill that they hope to get passed before the legislature breaks for the summer.