Across the board, Missouri casinos suffered a down month in April.
The Missouri Gaming Commission reported $155.8 million in casino gaming revenue for the month, an 11.2% drop from $175.4 million in March. Casino revenue also declined 6.6% year-over-year from $166.9 million in April 2023.
Decreased revenue resulted in fewer taxes for the state. April’s tax bill was $32.7 million, 11.1% less than the previous month ($36.8 million) and 6.7% below a year ago ($35.1 million).
Admissions fell, too. April’s 4.5 million admissions represented a 12% hit from March (5.1 million) and 7.4% fewer than the 4.9 million that visited Missouri casinos in April 2023.
One Missouri Casino Enjoys Year-Over-Year Growth in April
The Show Me State’s 13 riverboat casinos are residents’ only legal brick-and-mortar options. Missouri online casinos are prohibited, except for social and sweepstakes casinos.
Despite having no online competition, 12 of Missouri’s casinos failed to post higher April revenue totals than a year ago. Century Casino Cape Girardeau was the only one to buck the trend. The property’s $6.1 million in revenue was up 5.4% year-over-year. However, it ranked 10th in casino revenue in April.
The St. Louis area had the three top performers. Ameristar Casino Resort Spa St. Charles ($24.1 million) and River City Casino Hotel ($22.1 million) broke $20 million, a milestone Hollywood Casino & Hotel St. Louis ($19.8 million) failed to reach.
Five more casinos generated at least $10 million in revenue, four from Kansas City and one from St. Louis. The final five on the list had seven-figure revenue totals.
| Casino | Slot Revenue | Table Game Revenue | Total Revenue | YoY % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ameristar St. Charles | $19,965,562 | $4,168,059 | $24,133,621 | -8.70% |
| River City | $18,688,680 | $2,487,839 | $21,176,518 | -4.20% |
| Hollywood Casino | $16,930,679 | $2,844,389 | $19,775,069 | -6.80% |
| Ameristar Kansas City | $14,641,949 | $1,698,873 | $16,340,822 | -8.60% |
| Argosy Riverside | $11,366,391 | $2,535,724 | $13,902,115 | -6.20% |
| Harrah's Kansas City | $9,858,057 | $2,927,826 | $12,785,882 | -8.80% |
| Horseshoe St. Louis | $10,611,575 | $1,586,958 | $12,198,532 | -11.20% |
| Bally's Kansas City | $10,008,009 | $1,080,223 | $11,088,231 | -1.00% |
| Isle of Capri Boonville | $6,609,170 | $732,887 | $7,342,057 | -9.60% |
| Century Cape | $5,212,460 | $890,402 | $6,102,862 | 5.40% |
| Century Caruthersville | $3,702,308 | $315,992 | $4,018,300 | -1.40% |
| St. Jo Frontier | $3,925,970 | $92,043 | $4,018,012 | -7.00% |
| Mark Twain | $2,942,373 | $0 | $2,942,373 | -7.20% |
| TOTALS | $134,463,183 | $21,361,215 | $155,824,394 | -6.60% average |
Revenue from Both Slots and Table Games Down in April at Most Missouri Casinos
Slots and table games both took hits in April. Slot machine revenue totaled $134.5 million, a 6% year-over-year decline. Table games brought in $21.4 million, a double-digit (10.5%) annual hit.
Ameristar St. Charles led in both categories, but its slot revenue fell 7.2% annually to just below $20 million. Table game winnings totaled $4.2 million (-15.6% from $4.9 million).
Only Bally’s Kansas City showed annual gains in slot revenue. Three casinos – Harrah’s Kansas City, Isle of Capris Casino Hotel Boonville and Century Cape – improved year-over-year at the tables.
- Ameristar St. Charles: $20 million slot revenue (-7.2%); $4.2 million table games revenue (-15.6%)
- River City: $18.7 million slots (-2.9%); $2.5 million table games (-13.4%)
- Hollywood Casino: $16.9 million slots (-6.4%); $2.8 million table games (-8.9%)
- Ameristar Kansas City: $14.6 million slots (-5.1%); $1.7 million table games (-30.7%)
- Argosy Riverside: $11.4 million slots (-6.1%); $2.5 million table games (-6.7%)
- Harrah’s Kansas City: $9.9 million slots (-11.2%); $2.9 million table games (+0.4%)
- Horseshoe St. Louis: $10.6 million slots (-11.7%); $1.6 million table games (-7.8%)
- Bally’s Kansas City: $10 million slots (+1.4%); $1.1 million table games (-18.6%)
- Isle of Capri Boonville: $6.6 million slots (-10.7%); $733,000 table games (+1.1%)
- Century Cape: $5.2 million slots (-2.3%); $890,000 table games (+95.6%)
- Century Caruthersville: $3.7 million slots (-0.2%); $316,000 table games (-14.1%)
- St. Jo Frontier: $3.9 million slots (-4.3%); $92,000 table games (-57.8%)
- Mark Twain: $2.9 million slots (-6%); $0 table games (-100%)
May Flowers Uncertain, But Sunny Days Ahead in Missouri
April’s revenue brings Fiscal Year 2024’s total to $1.57 billion. It marks the second month when revenue dropped compared to 2023 and 2022.
As a result, FY 2024 is now $13 million off FY 2022’s year-to-date pace and more than $30 million off FY 2023. At this rate, Missouri casinos will fall below $1.9 billion in annual revenue for the first time since FY 2021.
But hope lies ahead. A proposal for a new casino near the Lake of the Ozarks looks like it’s headed for the November ballot, meaning Missourians could soon approve a 14th riverboat casino.
If the measure passes, it will mark the first expansion of Missouri gambling in 12 years. Century Cape (2012) and River City Casino (2010) were the last two casinos to open.
Additional gambling expansion could also come through the polls. The political action committee Winning for Missouri Education turned in 340,000 signatures earlier this month supporting Missouri sports betting, more than double the required number for the issue to gain ballot access.
