All businesses hope to improve their revenues and profits from year to year. That’s exactly what Detroit casinos’ August revenue report shows.
The combined aggregate revenue from the three commercial casinos in the metro from January through August of 2019 is up as compared to the first eight months of 2018. While the increase in terms of percentage may seem insignificant, growth is still preferable.
Detroit casinos’ August revenue report
According to the latest report from the Michigan Gaming Control Board, the three Detroit casinos combined for $119.8 million in August. The trio did a similar $119 million in July, as well.
July’s numbers actually represented a slight decrease (0.3%) for that month compared to 2018. The same can be said of August, which was 0.5% worse than the same month last year.
While that diminishes the growth of 2019 over 2018, it hasn’t put the kibosh on it. 2019 still represents a net gain.
Greektown Casino, the MGM Grand and MotorCity Casino have posted $974.3 million in aggregate revenue so far this year. That’s 0.7% better than 2018 through the first eight months.
While seven-tenths of 1% is far from astronomical growth, growth is the key word. It inspires confidence.
Why any growth, no matter how small, is significant
The casino industry, like many others, thrives on more than just the revenue it produces. Significant growth depends more on investment than patrons pulling the levers on slot machines.
Unlike visitors to casinos, investors prefer not to gamble with their money. It’s on the casinos, therefore, to convince investors of a guaranteed return.
Producing annual balance sheets that at least show consistency in revenue, if not slight growth, work toward that end. The Detroit casinos’ collective balance sheet shows such numbers so far this year.
Similar to how consistent growth breeds investor confidence in the casinos themselves, it’s also a selling point for the Detroit metro, as well.
Why the year-over-year revenue is good news for all
For responsible casino-goers, the money they put down on games is expendable income. Consistent casino revenue is therefore a sign that residents of and visitors to Detroit have a steady income.
That’s attractive to investors in other industries besides just the gaming biz. It strengthens the ability of Detroit to persuade buy-ins from many facets of the economy.
Detroit’s casinos aren’t celebrating a massive explosion in revenue as compared to last year so far, but the fact that there hasn’t been a significant downturn is still good news. If they can continue to show consistent revenue, it could lead to bigger things.
