Local casinos had another strong month in June, the latest sign that gamblers are opening their wallets again, weak economy or no.
Gaming revenue at the region's six casinos climbed 4.2 percent compared to last June, according to new figures from Missouri and Illinois regulators. The strongest gains came at Pinnacle Entertainment's sister properties in downtown and south St. Louis County. River City, Pinnacle's Lemay casino, saw revenue jump by nearly one-fifth to $16 million.
In all, four of the six casinos saw revenue grow. The Casino Queen, in East St. Louis, reported its best year-over-year performance since 2007, with revenue growth of 8.4 percent to $10.5 million. Ameristar in St. Charles saw the steepest decline, with business down 6.4 percent to $21.9 million.
Casino revenue has grown every month this year, and through June was up 3 percent compared to the first six months of 2010.
Here are the numbers for June.
| Casino | Revenue (in
Mill.) |
Change |
| Ameristar | $21.9 | -6.4% |
| Argosy Alton | $5.9 | -1.1% |
| Casino Queen | $10.5 | 8.4% |
| Harrah's | $21.4 | 6.4% |
| Lumiere Place | $13.9 | 8.6% |
| River City | $16.0 | 19.5% |
| Market | $89.6 | 4.2% |
Tim Logan covers economic development for the Post-Dispatch. He blogs on Building Blocks. Follow him on Twitter @tlwriter and the Business section @postdispatchbiz.
