Though limited to 15 percent of maximum capacity, Detroit’s three commercial casinos reported $87.9 million in combined revenues in September, the first full month that they’ve operated since the shutdown in March.
Due to pent-up demand, earnings from slots and tables games were down only 21.7 percent compared to September 2019, but were up nearly 27 percent over August, which saw casinos reopening starting on the 5th of the shortened month.
Year over year, revenue at MGM Grand Detroit dropped by 22.3 percent to $36.1 million (41 percent of total revenues), 17.3 percent to $32.2 million at MotorCity (37 percent), and 27.2 percent to $19.6 million at Greektown (22 percent).
Sports betting accounted for another $4.4 million across the three casinos: MGM $2.1 million, MotorCity $1.6 million, and Greektown $722,000.
For the first eight months of the year, aggregate casino revenue has declined 58 percent compared to the same period in 2019.
State gaming taxes for September totaled $7.1 million, down 22 percent from the $90.1 million paid in September 2019. Taxes on sports betting amounted to $165,000 to the state and $202,000 to the city of Detroit.
Fantasy sports number were released for August: $2.3 million for the month, with taxes of nearly $190,000 to the state.
