CLEVELAND, Ohio - The COVID-19 slump is over for Ohio’s casinos and racinos. The question is how much business will surge beyond where it was ever at ahead of the pandemic.
The state’s 11 casinos and racinos in April combined to take in a record $217.1 million in gambling revenue, after paying out winnings, reports released by the state show.
This broke the record of $215.9 million set in March, a month that had been easily the best ever for the 9-year-old industry. The previous record for any month was $184.2 million in March 2019.
The best April on record was $162 million in 2018.
The surge in business earlier this year immediately followed the lifting of government-imposed overnight curfews and the arrival of stimulus checks, on top of what typically is a busy time of the year for the facilities.
The $217.1 million taken in last month from table games and slot machines was up 35.5% from $160.2 million in April 2019. (A year ago, the casinos and racinos were closed throughout April as part of a three-month shutdown that lasted through mid-June, and later were subject to curfews through mid-February.)
Leading the way in April was Hollywood Casino Columbus, with $24.7 million, compared to $19.7 million in April 2019.
In the Cleveland-Akron market, revenue was up a combined 37.5% over April two years ago for the three facilities:
* JACK Thistledown Racino: $19.5 million, up 58.8% from $12.3 million.
* JACK Cleveland Casino: $24.1 million, up 41.4% from $17 million.
* MGM Northfield Park: $24.5 million, up 21.3% from $20.2 million in April 2019, which was the first month the facility rebranded to MGM from the Hard Rock Racino Northfield Park.
Ohio’s seven racinos, which under regulation by the Ohio Lottery Commission are limited to chance-based slot machines known as video lottery terminals, had $124.5 million in revenue, up 38.9% from $89.6 million in April 2019.
The four casinos in Cleveland, Cincinnati, Columbus and Toledo took in $92.6 million, up 31.1% from $70.6 million in April 2019. The casinos, under regulation of the Ohio Casino Control Commission, have a wider variety of slot machines, plus table games and poker rooms.
About a third of this gambling revenue is turned over to the state in the form of fees and taxes.
Below are details for each Ohio casino and racino.
Ohio casinos
| Statewide | April 2019 | April 2021 |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $70.6 million | $92.6 million |
| Table games | $22.5 million | $26.9 million |
| Slots | $48.1 million | $65.7 million |
| JACK Cleveland Casino | ||
| Revenue | $17.0 million | $24.1 million |
| Table games | $8.2 million | $11.0 million |
| Slots | $8.8 million | $13.0 million |
| Slots payout | 92.2% | 91.9% |
| Hard Rock Cincinnati Casino (JACK Cincinnati Casino in 2019) | ||
| Revenue | $16.8 million | $21.3 million |
| Table games | $6.3 million | $7.3 million |
| Slots | $10.5 million | $14.0 million |
| Slots payout | 91.8% | 91.6% |
| Hollywood Toledo | ||
| Revenue | $17.1 million | $22.6 million |
| Table games | $2.7 million | $3.2 million |
| Slots | $14.4 million | $19.4 million |
| Slots payout | 90.6% | 91.4% |
| Hollywood Columbus | ||
| Revenue | $19.7 million | $24.7 million |
| Table games | $5.3 million | $5.5 million |
| Slots | $14.3 million | $19.2 million |
| Slots payout | 92.1% | 91.9% |
Source: Ohio Casino Control Commission
Ohio racinos
| Statewide | April 2018 | April 2021 |
|---|---|---|
| Slots | $89.6 million | $124.5 million |
| Pct. payout | 90.9% | 90.6% |
| JACK Thistledown Racino | ||
| Slots | $12.3 million | $19.5 million |
| Pct. payout | 90.6% | 90.3% |
| MGM Northfield Park | ||
| Slots | $22.0 million | $24.5 million |
| Pct. payout | 91.0% | 90.7% |
| Hollywood Mahoning Valley | ||
| Slots | $10.8 million | $15.1 million |
| Pct. payout | 90.2% | 90.1% |
| Scioto Downs | ||
| Slots | $14.2 million | $21.7 million |
| Pct. payout | 90.7% | 90.4% |
| Miami Valley Gaming | ||
| Slots | $15.1 million | $19.2 million |
| Pct. payout | 91.7% | 91.2% |
| Belterra Park | ||
| Slots | $7.4 million | $9.2 million |
| Pct. payout | 90.9% | 89.9% |
| Hollywood Dayton | ||
| Slots | $9.7 million | $15.3 million |
| Pct. payout | 90.5% | 90.8% |
Source: Ohio Lottery Commission
Rich Exner, data analysis editor for cleveland.com, writes about numbers on a variety of topics. Follow on Twitter @RichExner . Follow casino coverage at cleveland.com/casino.
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