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In terms of sports betting, February proved to be a sizzling month for bettors at Detroit’s trio of physical casinos.
On Thursday, the monthly revenue figures for all three casinos were disclosed by the Michigan Gaming Control Board. MGM Grand Detroit Casino, MotorCity Casino Hotel, and Greektown Casino Hotel all experienced losses in their retail sportsbooks last month.
The total loss incurred by the three individuals combined exceeded $850,000.
Breaking down the losses for Detroit retail sportsbooks
In Detroit, the qualified adjusted gross receipts (QAGR) for February were recorded at a negative value of -$869,939. This represents a significant decrease of almost $3 million compared to the reported amount of $1.97 million in January 2022.
Last month, the three casinos received a total handle of $25.4 million. Here’s the breakdown of the losses:
Last month, both the State of Michigan and the city of Detroit were unable to collect taxes from retail sports betting as a result of the unfavorable outcomes observed in all three casinos.
Over the span of two months, the cumulative QAGR for the three retail sportsbooks in Detroit is as follows:
- Greektown, $632,672
- MGM, $306,703,
- MotorCity, $121,146
Super Bowl blues for the books?
During the Super Bowl month of February 2022, Detroit’s retail sportsbooks experienced a collective loss for the second year in a row.
In the previous year, the books collectively suffered a loss of $77,626. Among them, Greektown was the only one to emerge with a profit of $114,814 in revenue. MotorCity incurred a loss of $183,680, while MGM Grand Detroit experienced a minor setback of $8,761.
Maybe it’s not a mere coincidence that retail book sales declined during the month of the Super Bowl, especially considering the strong connection to Michigan in the game.
The Cincinnati Bengals were narrowly defeated by Matthew Stafford, the former Detroit Lion, who led the Los Angeles Rams to claim the title last month.
Tom Brady, a Michigan alum, guided the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to claim their seventh Super Bowl championship by defeating the Kansas City Chiefs a year ago.
Paul Stencel, sportsbook manager at Greektown, expressed his disappointment with the Super Bowl outcome, stating, “Our book suffered the worst possible result. We had a significant number of wagers on the Rams futures and received substantial bets on the Bengals, with added points. Additionally, we faced substantial action on NHL totals, which ultimately favored the bettors.”
Overall casino numbers
Although the Detroit casinos experienced losses in their sportsbook, they still managed to have a decent month overall.
In the month of February, a total of $94.7 million in aggregate revenue was reported.
The revenue generated from table games and slots totaled $95.6 million, compensating for the losses incurred in sports betting.
In comparison to the previous year, the revenue generated by table games and slots experienced a growth of 10.6% in February 2021.
Compared to the same period in 2021, there has been a 12.3% increase in revenue from slots and table games during the first two months of 2022.
The revenue distribution among the three casinos for February 2022 is as follows:
- MGM 49% ($46.3 million)
- MotorCity 30% ($28.9 million)
- Greektown 21% ($20.4 million)
In comparison to February of the previous year, MGM is the only company that experienced an increase in revenue, with a growth of 34.4%. On the other hand, MotorCity and Greektown observed a decline in revenue, with decreases of 7.3% and 2.1% respectively.
In February, Detroit casinos contributed $7.7 million in gaming taxes to the State of Michigan, surpassing the $7 million paid during the same period last year.
During the month of February, the City of Detroit received $11.4 million in wagering taxes and development agreement payments from the three casinos.
