The Michigan Gaming Control Board reported $122.3 million in adjusted gross casino revenue from its three Detroit casinos for March on Tuesday, the highest monthly total post-pandemic.

The figure does not include the $1.6 million in AGR claimed by its three sportsbooks. The casino gaming revenue was the most accrued by the trio since they collected a combined $127.8 million in December 2019. The previous high in monthly revenue since March 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic started, was $120.9 million in March 2022. That was also the only previous instance post-pandemic in which Detroit’s three casinos combined to surpass $120 million.

Revenue was up 3.8% compared to the $117.8 million accumulated in March 2023 and 16.7% higher stacked up against the $104.8 million claimed in February, which had two fewer days of wagering. The state collected $9.9 million in tax revenue for March, lifting the total to just shy of $26 million for the first quarter of 2024. That is $423,994 less than the same period in 2023.

The city of Detroit received $14.5 million worth of tax receipts, and the $38.2 million collected through the first three months of the year is $4.6 million less compared to the first quarter of 2023.

Two casinos up, one barely down

Both MGM Grand and MotorCity Casino had their best individual months in two years. MGM Grand paced the trio with $56.7 million, its highest revenue haul since claiming $56.8 million in April 2022. It was also MGM Grand’s best March since amassing $59.2 million in 2019 as this year’s March revenue was up 4.1% compared to last year.

MotorCity’s year-over-year 7.2% increase in revenue was tops among Motown’s gaming venues, and the $38.4 million in AGR was its most in a month since it posted a $39.3 million total in March 2022. MotorCity has generated $97.1 million in the first quarter of this year, less than $155,000 behind the same period in 2023.

Greektown Casino reported a 1.4% decline against March 2023 to $27.3 million. The PENN Entertainment-owned venue has yet to have a month post-pandemic surpass the $28.6 million reported for February 2020. For the year, Greektown’s revenue of $73.3 million is off 1.2% compared to the first quarter of 2023.

The trio has generated $320.9 million in revenue for the first three months of 2024, down 1.6% to the comparable span last year.

A solid bounce back for brick-and-mortar sportsbooks

After reporting a small six-figure loss in February, Detroit’s three retail sportsbooks had a solid March. The trio won $1.6 million in gross revenue from $17.2 million handle, good for a 9.3% hold.

Handle was up 23.8% compared to March 2023, aided by the NCAA Tournament hosting the Midwest regionals at Little Caesars Arena. Revenue increased 12.1% as the win rate was nearly one full percentage point lower compared to 12 months prior.

Greektown saw the bulk of the city’s sports betting action — the $9.6 million worth of wagers represented a 48.4% increase from March 2023. The $731,389 won, however, was up only 4.1% from last year as the sportsbook’s overall deficit for 2024 shrank to $175,039.

MotorCity Casino had another solid March as the FanDuel-powered sportsbook had a 13.5% hold in winning $538,988 from close to $4 million wagered. It was the fourth consecutive March the brick-and-mortar venue had a win rate of 12.4% or better.

MGM Grand posted an 8.9% hold while claiming $327,815 in winnings from $3.7 million handle. Though it was the only sportsbook of the three to see a year-over-year decline in wagers accepted, the BetMGM sportsbook had a 15.5% bounce in revenue thanks to the hold being nearly 1.9 percentage points higher.

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