March was a mixed bag for Detroit's three casinos, with the Michigan Gaming Control Board reporting a collective revenue of $117.4 million for the month. A substantial portion of this figure, $116.8 million, stemmed from table games and slot machines. At the same time, a smaller contribution of $571,215 was credited to retail sports betting, as reported by the Michigan Gaming Control Board.
Breaking it down by individual entities, MGM Grand Detroit held the lion's share with 46% market dominance, followed by MotorCity Casino at 31%, and Hollywood Casino at Greektown trailing with a 23% slice of the monthly revenue pie. Despite March’s figures showing a significant 19.2% uptick from February's performance, when compared year-over-year, there's a noticeable 4.5% revenue decline in table games and slot machine earnings. The quarter as a whole, spanning from January through March, exhibited a slight 1.2% dip from the same quarter the previous year.
Each casino's year-on-year comparison for March paints a detailed picture of the revenue landscape. MGM Grand Detroit's earnings shrank by about 5.1%, totaling $53.8 million. MotorCity Casino's finances also contracted by 6.4%, rounding off at $35.9 million, while Hollywood Casino at Greektown saw a relatively stable month with just a marginal 0.6% decrease, bringing in $27.1 million. Taxes paid to the state from gaming activities amounted to $9.5 million, a slight decrease from March 2024's $9.9 million. Detroit city coffers were bolstered with $13.9 million in wagering taxes and development agreement payments during the same period.
The retail sports betting sector didn't fare as well, witnessing a rather sharp dip in cash flow. The casinos' total sports betting handle for March was $12.1 million, yielding gross receipts totaling $580,011. Reflecting a more distressing trend, the qualified adjusted gross receipts (QAGR) plummeted by 64.3% compared to the same month in 2024 and by 30.0% in a month-to-month comparison with February. Breaking down QAGR further, MGM Grand Detroit's cut was $364,736, MotorCity Casino collected a modest $138,458, and Hollywood Casino at Greektown managed $68,022. State gaming taxes in this segment amounted to a modest $21,592, and the City of Detroit received $26,390 in wagering taxes from the March revenue figures.
