Gaming revenue in Illinois declined 5.0% in June compared to the same period in 2019. June revenue at the state’s ten casinos totaled $105.3 compared to the $110.9 million generated in June 2019.
Illinois casinos were closed in June 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Second-quarter gaming revenue also was down compared to the second quarter of 2019. Illinois casinos generated $320.1 million in 2021 2Q, compared to $343.8 million in the same period in 2019, a 6.9% decrease.
June was the second consecutive month the state saw gaming revenue decrease. After peaking in April with $107.8 million, revenue in May fell to $107.0 million. June’s gaming revenue was a 1.6% decrease from the previous month.
The Northern Illinois market, which includes Empress Joliet, Harrah’s Joliet, Hollywood Aurora, Grand Victoria and Rivers Illinois, generated $82.4 million, the most revenue in the state, but a 1.7% decrease from June 2019’s $83.8 million.
Of the five casinos in the Northern Illinois market, Rivers Illinois in Des Plaines brought in the most revenue with $41.3 million, a jump of 9.2% from June 2019’s total of $37.8 million. The Grand Victoria Casino in Elgin saw revenue drop from $13.7 million in June 2019 to $13.1 million this year, a 5.0% decrease.
Harrah’s Joliet Casino generated revenue of $12.5 million in June, a decrease of 5.3% from $13.2 million in June 2019. Hollywood Aurora Casino brought in $8.5 million in revenue in June, down 7.5% from June 2019’s total of $9.2 million. The decrease in revenue at Empress Joliet was 28.5%, from June 2019’s $9.8 million to $7.0 million in June 2021.
The St. Louis market, which consists of Argosy Casino Alton and Casino Queen, had $8.2 million in revenue in June, a 9.5% decrease from $9.1 million generated in June 2019. Casino Queen revenue was $5.4 million in June, a decrease of 37.0% from the June 2019 total of $8.4 million. Revenue at Argosy was $3.0 million compared to $0.7 million in June 2019, an increase of 314.7%.
Illinois’s three other casinos, Par-A-Dice Casino in Peoria, Casino Rock Island and Harrah’s Metropolis, had revenue of $14.7 million in June, compared to $17.9 million in June 2019. Harrah’s Metropolis June gaming revenue was $5.4 million, a 13.6% decrease from June 2019’s $6.2 million. Par-A-Dice revenue down 7.8%, from $6.0 million in June 2019 to $5.6 million this year. Casino Rock Island’s $3.8 June revenue is a 34.2% decrease from June 2019’s $5.7 million.
