O
hio’s 11 casinos and racinos set an August record with $172.1 million in gambling revenue, following a record July in the wake of three months of state-ordered closings because of coronavirus, according to reports released Tuesday.
Monthly gambling highs have now been set for each of the four full months the casinos and racinos have been open this year, falling short only during partial-month operations in March and June and during closings for the entire months of April and May.
The gambling revenue of $172.1 million was up 4.7%, or $7.7 million over the previous August record set in 2019, Cleveland.com reports. For the year, revenues are down sharply because of the closings from mid-March through mid-June. Revenue through August was $840.6 million, down from $1.3 billion at the same time last year.
Topping all Ohio operations in August for the second month in a row was the Hollywood Casino Toledo, taking in $22.9 million. Nearby casinos in Detroit did not reopen until early August. Gambling revenue in the Cleveland market was up 1.3%, with gains at the two JACK properties but a dropoff at MGM Northfield Park. Jack Thistledown Racinos was up 15.4% to $14.1 million, Jack Cleveland Casino was up 1.4% to $18.2 million, and MGM Northfield Park was down 7.2% to $19.3 million.
MGM Northfield still remained the busiest of the state’s seven racinos. The racinos, regulated by the Ohio Lottery Commission, are limited to chance-based slot machines called video lottery terminals. The totals do not included what is taken in from racing bets. Ohio’s four casinos, regulated by the Ohio Casino Control Commission, are permitted to offer a wider variety of slot machines, plus table games including poker rooms.
Cleveland’s casino is the top table game operation in Ohio, with $8.5 million of its $18.2 million in revenue coming from the tables last month. This is more than one-third of the revenue statewide for table games.
