As we entered the month of November, gambling industry leaders held their third quarter investor calls.
The calls keep investors informed on the success of the companies, while also providing revenue projections for future time periods ahead.
With Michigan already having online sports betting and online casinos legalized, breaking news within the state isn’t often part of these quarterly calls.
But, that doesn’t mean that the calls didn’t have some noteworthy moments involving the state.
Hollywood Casino at Greektown a lead example for Penn
During Penn Entertainment’s Q3 investor call, there was a lot of praise for the transition of Hollywood Casino at Greektown.
The rebranding took effect on May 1 of this year.
“Our newly rebranded Hollywood Casino at Greektown in Detroit is a good example of our strategy to re-imagine our properties,” said Jay Snowden, Chief Executive Officer of Penn Entertainment. “As you may recall, the hotel had been unavailable for nearly two years due to water damage. This gave us the opportunity to completely remodel our standard rooms and hotel lobby to add updated offerings and new F&B concepts. With our renovation nearing completion, we think Greektown is well-positioned to improve performance as downtown Detroit continues to rebound.”
One area that has excelled at Greektown is its retail Barstool Sportsbook located inside the casino property.
It has been Detroit’s top retail sportsbook performer in terms of handle every month for 2022. For the year, it has amassed over $113.5 million in handle, leading to $5.7 million in revenue.
Altogether, Penn National has 25 retail sportsbooks throughout 11 states in the US. Excluding Nevada, it makes up 18% of the retail handle market share in the country from January-August of 2022.
Growth remains for Rush Street in Michigan
Rush Street Interactive, owner of BetRivers Sportsbook and BetRivers Casino, already has established itself in the state of Michigan.
BetRivers has an online casino product that is fourth in all-time online revenue for Michigan. For that reason, Rush Street considers the state a continued asset.
During its Q3 investors call, Rush Street highlighted the profitability of Michigan thanks to having both online sportsbooks and iGaming.
Due to that, RSI is continuing to market toward a retention audience in Michigan, rather than putting focus on new acquisitions in a newer market like Ontario.
“There are some markets where we’re still seeing really strong growth that are existing markets such as Michigan,” said RSI Development CEO Richard Swartz. “Then, of course, we mentioned the excitement around Ontario and the growth opportunity there.”
When it comes to sports betting, BetRivers is seventh in Michigan’s all-time online handle race with $96.1 million.
BetRivers recently struck a partnership with the Detroit Pistons for the BetRivers Backcourt Club. It is located behind the visiting baseline for Pistons home games. It offers an all-inclusive and exclusive floor level experience for its members.
Mattress Mack impacting Q4 projections
One of the nation’s most notorious gamblers, Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale is having an impact on some companies projected revenue for Q4.
A $3 million wager on the Houston Astros to win the World Series was placed by McIngvale at Caesars Sportsbook in May at +1000 odds.
“I think most of you are aware, we’ve got a fairly high-profile liability out there with the Astros. So that will have … that will be a swing factor in whether fourth quarter is positive as a whole,” said Tom Reeg, CEO of Caesars Entertainment prior to the finish of the World Series.
Well, the Astros won the World Series in six games last week. That earned McIngvale $30 million in winnings from his wager.
But that wasn’t all. McIngvale also hit up a $2 million wager with a Penn National sportsbook that paid out $10 million in winnings.
That bet alone Penn is forecasting to impact whether or not it will make a profit in Q4.
“We’re part of the Mattress Mack World Series bet. So he’s got a couple of million on the line with us that would pay out $10 million. So go Phils for sure,” said Snowden. “I think if Mattress Mack doesn’t hit, we’ll be profitable Q4. If he does, then it will probably be closer to break even-ish somewhere in that range.”
Altogether, McIngvale won around $75 million in wagers from the Astros beating the Phillies. He uses these publicized wagers as a way to help promote his Gallery Furniture store.
In this case he offered to double the money in a refund to any customer that purchased $3,000 or more on furniture if the Astros won the World Series.
“Oh, it’s definitely a win-win,” McIngvale told ESPN in a recent profile. “These promotions just bring the brand to life and give us a ton of brand equity that we wouldn’t have otherwise. The customers love it, so they’re totally engaged and talk about it for years. Because it runs all season long, it probably ups the number of people following the Astros, too, because now they have a real vested interest in the team.”
