In what is typically one of the slowest months of the year, August casino revenue in the Buckeye State dropped 3.3%.
Gross gaming revenue from the four Ohio casinos totaled $82.3 million in August. These numbers represent a 4.2% dip from July, but a 3.3% fall from August 2022.
Year to date, Ohio casino revenue is $680 million. This is a $2.1 million increase from a year ago or a 0.4% jump. These numbers do not include any revenue from online casinos in Ohio, as the state has yet to legalize real-money iGaming.
Slot machine revenue key to casino success
According to numbers released by the Ohio Casino Control Commission, Ohio gamblers put $766 million into slot machines in August. The properties netted $60 million from those wagers.
Therefore, August’s slot payout was 92.17%. That’s in line with the yearly average and nearly the same figure reported in July, at 97.14%.
Revenue from table games at the four casinos was $22.3 million in August, with a payout percentage of 77.3%.
The combined table drop was $98.4 million. Table drop is the “total amount converted to gaming chips on table games including table promotional,” according to the Ohio Casino Control Commission. In other words, it’s the amount of money gamblers intended to bet at the tables.
Jack Cleveland regains top position among OH casinos in revenue
Here is what the Ohio casino revenue breakdown looked like at the four properties in August:
Casino | Table Game Revenue | Slot Revenue | Totals |
---|---|---|---|
Jack Casino Cleveland | $8.6 Million | $13.7 Million | $22.3 Million |
Hollywood Casino Columbus | $5.4 Million | $16.7 Million | $22.1 Million |
Hard Rock Casino Cincinnati | $6 Million | $13.6 Million | $19.6 Million |
Hollywood Casino Toledo | $2.3 Million | $16 Million | $18.3 Million |
Totals | $22.3 Million | $60 Million | $82.3 Million |
Jack Cleveland Casino regained the title as the highest-grossing casino in Ohio. Previously, Hollywood Casino Columbus held that spot in July. But it also held that spot in April, May and June.
However, Cleveland just barely earned that title. The margin between Jack Cleveland and Hollywood Casino Columbus was less than $160,000 last month. The Cleveland facility has more than 1,600 slot machines more than 100 table games, and 28 poker tables.
Hollywood Columbus Casino reported the highest slot payout rate of 92.94%. At $182.8 million, Columbus has a narrow total revenue lead for the first eight months of the year. Jack Cleveland is second at $178.8 million.
Hard Rock Cincinnati totaled $19.6 million in August revenue. Hollywood Casino Toledo rounded out the quartet with $18.3 million in August revenue.
Projecting the rest of 2023
The Ohio casinos are on pace for a little over $1 billion in total revenue in the calendar year of 2023.
So far, through eight months, the casinos are averaging $85 million per month.
Thus, if they hold that pace, the 2023 total figure should come in at about $1.02 billion. That number would break the record set in 2022, which was $1.005 billion.