Greektown’s Hollywood Casino Is A Shining Example Of Penn Entertainment

Gambling industry leaders always release their third-quarter investor calls during November.

These calls ensure all investors are informed on company success while also giving revenue projections for the future. 

Online casinos and sports betting have been legal in Michigan for a while. Breaking news within the state industry isn’t usually part of these quarterly reflections. 

However, that doesn’t mean quarterly calls don’t have exciting information for MI casinos.

Hollywood Casino: Greektown’s Leading Example For Penn

In the Penn Entertainment Q3 investor call, a lot of praise was given to the Hollywood Casino at Greektown. 

This casino’s major rebranding started on May 1st 2022, and the transition has moved successfully ever since.

“Our newly rebranded Hollywood Casino at Greektown in Detroit is a great example of our strategy to re-imagine our casino properties,” said Jay Snowden, Chief Executive Officer at Penn Entertainment. 

“As you may remember, the hotel had been unavailable for around two years due to water damage. It allowed us to completely remodel our standard rooms and lobby to add new F&B concepts and updated offerings. With our renovation nearing completion, we believe Greektown is well-positioned to improve performance as the downtown Detroit area continues to rebound.”

One particular area at Greektown that’s continued to excel is the Barstool Sportsbook retail space. It is located within the casino property, and has been Detroit’s best retail sportsbook performer for every month in 2022. Over the year, it has gathered more than $113.5 million in a handle, providing approx $5.7 million in revenue.

Penn National owns 25 retail sports books within 11 US states. This makes up around 18% of the handle retail market share in the US from January to August 2022 – excluding Nevada.

Rush Street in Michigan Growth Continues

Rush Street Interactive, the owner of BetRivers Casino and BetRivers Sportsbook, has already established itself in Michigan.

The BetRivers online casino product sits fourth in total online revenue in MI. Because of this, Rush Street considered MI state a continued asset.

In the Q3 investor call, Rush Street emphasized the profitability of Michigan due to iGaming and online sportsbook availability.

Therefore, RSI will continue to market toward customer retention in MI rather than focusing on customer acquisition in new markets. 

“There are some markets where we’re still seeing positive growth. This includes existing markets such as Michigan,” said RSI Development CEO Richard Swartz. “Then, of course, we mentioned the excitement around new markets, such as Ontario, and the growth opportunity there.”

In the niche of sports betting, BetRivers is the seventh all-time performer in Michigan with $96.1 million.

BetRivers has recently announced its partnership with the Detroit Pistons for the BetRivers Backcourt Club. The venue, which offers its customers an exclusive and all-inclusive floor-level experience, is located behind the visiting baseline for Pistons home games.

Mattress Mack impacting brands’ revenue for Q4

Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale, known as one of the nation’s most notorious gamblers, is claimed to impact some brands’ projected revenue for Q4.

In May, McIngvale placed a $3 million wager to win the World Series in Caesars Sportsbook at +1000 odds.

Tom Reeg, CEO of Caesars Entertainment, was sure that a high-profile liability with the Astros would be a swing factor in whether the fourth quarter would be positive.

As we see, last week the Astros won the World Series in six games, which helped McIngvale to earn $30 million from his wager.

Besides, McIngvale also hit a $2 million wager with a Penn National sportsbook. It is known that the company paid out $10 million in winnings. Just one bet is forecast to impact the profitability of sportsbook brands in Q4 gradually.

Altogether, McIngvale earned about $75 million in wagers from the Astros beating the Phillies. These publicized wagers were actually used as a way to promote his Gallery Furniture store. He offered to double the money in a refund to any customer who purchased his furniture on $3,000+ if the Astros won the World Series.

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