PENN Entertainment has partnered with game manufacturer Light & Wonder to bring Hollywood Casino at Greektown live dealer games to its online platform, Hollywood casino. Light & Wonder, which is known for its slot games, is launching the first-of-its-kind live dealer games.
Hollywood MI online casino players are going to feel like they are playing at the Greektown location in Detroit that includes plenty of property branding.
Out of 15 Michigan online casinos, Hollywood is regularly in the top half when it comes to online casino revenue. PENN Entertainment is also expected to launch a standalone Hollywood app in early 2025.
Live dealer launch ‘creates important omnichannel touchpoints’
Light & Wonder has produced upwards of 4,500 games to operators all over the world. This is the first time the game manufacturer created bespoke live dealer tables using an operator’s brand. It’s also the first time PENN Entertainment launched a game with its own brand.
PENN Interactive VP of Operations, Jason Birney, said in a press release:
“We are pleased to partner with Light & Wonder to launch these bespoke gaming options for our customers in Michigan.
“The addition of these games enhances our overall online casino offering in the state and creates important omnichannel touchpoints between our Greektown property and our Hollywood Casino product.”
The new live dealer titles include Hollywood Casino at Greektown-branded blackjack. In addition, PENN is adding Lucky Cat Baccarat, which is an original title from the company’s in-house studio.
Light & Wonder’s new games come with the following features:
- ShuffleMaster Side Bets
- ShuffleStar
- Continuous Shuffler
- PayMeNow
Light & Wonder VP Commercial & Managing Director of U.S. iGaming, Dana Jackel, said:
“This is a very exciting launch for us. We expect that the combination of the Hollywood Casino brand and our premium features will make for a highly relevant and extraordinarily fun gaming experience in North America.
“We believe PENN Entertainment’s players will love our feature-packed live dealer casino portfolio, and we look forward to enjoying mutual success in Michigan and beyond.”
Hollywood’s online casino performance, plans to launch standalone app
Hollywood is considered a strong online casino operator Michigan, finishing at least seventh in revenue in every month this year except one. It has produced the following totals so far in 2024:
- January: $5.1 million
- February: $4.9 million
- March: $5.2 million
- April: $4.6 million
- May: $4.9 million
- June: $3.6 million
- July: $4.4 million
Hollywood is hoping to return to first-quarter outputs, and the addition of new live dealer games could help it get there. June’s total of $3.6 million landed Hollywood outside the top seven the only time this year.
To further connect with customers and drive revenue, PENN Entertainment announced the launch of its standalone online casino app. Right now, Hollywood online casino can only be accessed through ESPN BET Sportsbook.
“By early 2025, we expect to introduce our first standalone casino app, which will allow us to better leverage the strength of the Hollywood brands and our robust casino database,” said PENN CEO Jay Snowden during a Q2 2024 earnings call earlier this month.
“We are continuing to improve our high casino product offering by adding exciting new game titles from PENN Game Studios, while increasing the breadth of our third party content and expanding our promotional capabilities.”
Looks like Snowden is sticking to his word with implementation plans in the works. Hollywood could be back in the $5 million range per month, or even more, by the time the app is available.
