The three casinos in Detroit, Michigan combined to generate over $100m in revenue during September, the month before a series of worker strikes damaged the operations of the venues.
Per the Michigan Gaming Control Board’s data, the three licensed venues made $101.6m in September trading, broken down into $100m from retail slots and table games, and $1.6m in retail sports betting.
The $100m made in retail casino games marks a decrease of 0.8% on an annual basis and 4.4% down on August’s revenues.
MGM was the market leader in Detroit last month with 44% of the market share in the state, while MotorCity had 31% and Hollywood Casino at Greektown had the final 25% market share.
While Hollywood Casino had the lowest market share last month, it was the only venue to post an annual uptick in gaming revenue, enjoying a 15.1% rise in revenue to $24.3m. Meanwhile, MGM’s revenue declined 7.6% YoY to $44.7m and MotorCity’s declined 1.1% to $31m.
From the retail sports betting perspective, operators handled $18.1m for the month, as the NFL season kicked off and bettors engaged with betting on the sport. Revenue from sports betting was $1.6m with qualified adjusted gross receipts down 39.4% YoY.
MotorCity was the main benefactor of sports betting in Detroit last month, generating $875k in revenue, over half of all the money made in the city. Hollywood Casino made $656k and MGM made $43.5k.
In terms of taxes, casinos paid out $8.1m in gaming taxes to the state, while they reported submitting $12.3m in wagering taxes and development payments to the city of Detroit.
This report was released as many casino workers in the city are striking over pay and working conditions. There has been a dispute over pay and conditions in the renegotiations of casino workers’ contracts and union representatives argue that workers have suffered hardship throughout the last few years with pandemic pressures and below-inflation pay increase offers.
Striking workers have the support of the Detroit City Council, whose President, Mary Sheffield, published a document urging casinos to find a resolution.
Citing that the city’s three casinos have generated record revenues despite having 1,500 fewer members of staff, Sheffield stated: “The Detroit City Council supports working people across every sector of our economy and recognizes that working people deserve respect, adequate workplace protections and the right to a living wage.”
