Strikes hit Detroit casino revenue again in November

Revenue from the city’s three land-based commercial casinos was down from $101.8m in the same month last year. The November figure was also down 4.5% from the $82.8m that Detroit posted in October this year.

The decline came against a background of strikes in Detroit. Some workers went on strike on 17 October and did not reach an agreement on pay until mid-November. This meant the MGM Grand, Greektown and MotorCity casinos were short of staff for most of the month.

Of all revenue generated by the three casinos, $76.0m came from tables games and slots. This was 23.9% behind last year’s total and 7.0% less than October 2023.

The remaining $3.1m in revenue was attributed to sports betting qualified adjusted gross receipts (QAGR). This was 63.2% higher than November 2022 and 181.8% ahead of October this year.

As for sports betting handle, players in Detroit spent $15.3m betting on sports at casinos. This was down 15.5% from $18.1m in both November 2022 and October 2023.

Closing the gap on MGM in Detroit.

MGM remained the leading casino in Detroit, holding 34% of the market during November. However, its lead was cut from the 46% share it held in October.

MGM posted $30.6m in table and slot game revenue, as well as $230,847 worth of sports betting QAGR.

MotorCity closed the gap on MGM, reporting a 34% market share. It posted revenue of $24.7m from table and slot game revenue and $2.2m in sports wagering QAGR.

Rounding off the Detroit marker was the Hollywood Casino at Greektown with a 27% share. Greektown announced $10.8m in table and slot game revenue, in addition to $657,545 in sports betting QAGR.

Turning to tax, the casinos paid $6.2m in gaming tax to the state of Michigan in November. An additional $9.4m was paid in wagering taxes and development agreement payments to the city of Detroit.

As for sports betting, tax totalled $116,769 for the state of Michigan. In addition, the three casinos paid $142,718 in wagering taxes to the city of Detroit.