Churchill Downs’s Richmond-area slot parlors saw a steep double-digit plunge in October. But that wasn’t the full extent of the company’s Virginia woes last month.
Exclusive of Richmond, historical horse racing machines (HHR) experienced a two percent slippage. The blended rate for HHRs, all of which are owned by Churchill Downs, was minus 5.6 percent.
Only two Churchill Downs properties were revenue-positive for the month. The Rose casino in northern Virginia led the Cavalier State with $15.2 million, a 5.7 percent jump. Its machines averaged $308 per day.
Also favorable was the outcome at the Vinton branch of Rosie’s, which grossed $4.8 million. That was a 1.7 percent increase, as the machines averaged $333 per device per day.
The highest per-HHR tally came from the Roseshire parlor in Henrico County, where machines averaged $486 per day. Its gross of $2.6 million, however, was a 6.2 percent decline, as the property marked its first anniversary.
Also down 6.2 percent was Churchill Downs’s lowest-grossing parlor in Colinsville. The Rosie’s there grossed $300,000 or $290 per device per day.
Rosie’s in Hampton suffered a slight declivity, down 1.7 percent. Its gross of $8.9 million, however, represented $409 per HHR daily.
Three Churchill Downs casinos within the catchment area of Cordish Gaming’s Class III casino in Petersburg were hit hardest. Colonial Downs plunged 18.1 percent to $3.5 million or $299 per slot per day. The Richmond-area Rosie’s were driven down 17.8 percent for a $10.4 million gross. That worked out to $284 per device per day, the lowest per-HRM tally in the state. Rosie’s in Emporia also felt the impact of Petersburg competition, falling 16.3 percent to $1.8 million. Its per-slot average was $385 per day, however.
Lower HHR grosses were not the only adversity Churchill Downs faced in the first week of November. It backed ballot initiatives to bring Rosie’s parlors to Amherst County and the town of Pulaski, both in western Virginia. Both ballot questions were narrowly trailing at press time.
