Detroit Casino April Revenues at $109M, Down From Last Year

Article ByDavid Weir

May 12, 2023

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Posted in: Michigan Gambling News, US Casino News, US Sports Betting News

The Michigan Gaming Control Board has issued its April 2023 revenue report for the state’s casinos and sports betting venues. The three Detroit casinos, MGM Grand Detroit, MotorCity Casino, and Hollywood Casino at Greektown brought in more than $109.7 million over the month.

Nearly all of that was accounted for by slots and table games. The accompanying sportsbooks saw a $15 million handle, but they only kept $120,350 as revenue. That’s partly down to one spectacularly successful bettor winning $2.6 million in parlay wagers at the FanDuel venue in MotorCity Casino.

As in previous months, MGM Grand Detroit’s monthly topped the pack with $50.2 million in revenues and a 46% market share.

Mixed Fortunes

Although that one $2.6 million sports betting payout definitely had some effect, tables and slot games at the casinos were still down 6.2% on April 2022’s figures. They were also down 6.9% from the previous month of March.

However, within that overall figure, one casino managed a year-on-year revenue gain for the month. Hollywood Casino at Greektown took in $25.2 million, compared to $23.68 million in April 2022.

MGM Grand Detroit saw the biggest fall in revenues, down 11% on last year – but it still held on to the top spot. MotorCity Casino pulled in $34.2 million in revenues, which was a drop of 6.2%.

On the sports betting side of things, the results for the three casinos’ retail sportsbooks were also mixed. The Barstool sportsbook at Hollywood Casino at Greektown held on to $1.4 million in revenue, and MGM $432,195.

Chiefs Parlay

However, the big negative, for the sportsbooks at least, was at MotorCity. It was in that casino’s FanDuel sportsbook venue that a bettor placed four $10,000 parlays during March.

Wagers went down on the University of Connecticut Huskies to win the March Madness basketball tournament, each paired with several bets on the Kansas City Chiefs to win Super Bowl LVII at various scorelines.

All four parlays came in and the bettor walked away with $2.6 million. With that one payout, the successful bettor took the adjusted gross receipts for Michigan’s sportsbooks down 93.6%, compared to April of last year. Not much you can do to legislate for that.

Wins & Taxes

The three casinos overall paid $8.9 million in taxes to the state of Michigan, down $6 million on last April’s figure. They also paid $13 million in city taxes.

Despite making an adjusted loss for the month of $14,489, the retail sportsbooks still paid more than $153,000 in state and city taxes.

Online fantasy sports platforms like DraftKings and FanDuel are still popular in Michigan, with a total handle of $6.8 million over the month. This sector paid $572,626 in state taxes.