Casino revenue outpacing pre-COVID numbers; admissions down from 2021

According to the most recent Missouri Gaming Commission statistics, 10 of the state's 13 riverboat gaming casinos — including in Cape Girardeau and Caruthersville — saw their admissions drop in November compared to the same month a year ago.

Century Casino Cape Girardeau, situated along the Mississippi riverfront at 777 Main St., saw admissions drop 12.4% from 87,600 to 76,718.

The casino, which opened Oct. 30, 2012, also saw year-to-year turnstile declines for July through October this year, with admissions down 9% each month from the corresponding period in 2021.

"In calendar year 2021, the two Century casinos in Missouri saw record-level gaming revenues, which were, in part, favorably impacted by government stimulus payments," said Roger Eledge, director of casino operations in Cape Girardeau and Caruthersville.

"It could be that macroeconomic challenges are beginning to play a factor [this year] in people's spending habits and decision-making. 2022 revenues for Cape Girardeau and Caruthersville casinos continue to significantly outperform their pre-COVID results from 2019 and prior," he added.

Gaming Commission reports show Century Casino Cape Girardeau posted strong gains from July to December 2021 with double-digit increases seen in turnstile attendance in five of those six months.

As recently as February 2022, the casino witnessed an 18% jump in admissions year-to-year.

Century Casino Cape Girardeau broke ground May 26 for a $26 million, six-story, 69-room hotel, which is due to be completed by first quarter of 2024.

Caruthersville

Century Casino in Pemiscot County broke ground Dec. 2 for a new land-based $59.1 million casino/hotel development and also experienced admission declines in the latter half of 2022.

In November, Caruthersville's turnstile numbers were down 24% from the same month a year ago.

From July through October, Caruthersville saw double-digit declines ranging from 11% to 18%.

"Due to low water levels, access was permanently closed to the Caruthersville riverboat on October 13 of this year and operations continued on a barge through December 14, 2022, with a reduced number of patrons. On Friday, Dec. 16, the casino moved to a new temporary location in the pavilion building on the protected side of the floodwall, becoming the first non-floating casino in the state. The casino will stay at this location until construction of the new casino is finished in 2024," Eledge said, adding that Caruthersville operated with 200 fewer machines than normal for a two-month period, which he said was a 40% reduction in gaming capacity.

Lyle Randolph, Century Casino Cape Girardeau's general manager with oversight responsibilities for the Caruthersville operation, told the Southeast Missourian on Oct. 5 that a 116-room Walker's Bluff casino hotel is being built near Carbondale, Illinois.

The plans by a competing hotel operator helped Century Casino accelerate a decision to more fully develop its Cape Girardeau and Caruthersville properties, Randolph said at the time.

Gains/declines

• Two Missouri casinos posted November attendance increases year-to-year: Horseshoe St. Louis, formerly known as Lumiere Place, was up 4%; River City in Lemay, St. Louis County, was up 5%.
• Ten state casinos, including Cape Girardeau and Caruthersville, posted November declines: Ameristar Kansas City (13%); Ameristar St. Charles (5%); Argosy Riverside (10%); Harrah's North Kansas City (13%); Hollywood St. Louis (9%): Isle of Capri Boonville (2%); Mark Twain La Grange (13%); and Frontier St. Joseph (9%).
• One casino saw essentially no change in attendance last month according to the Gaming Commission: Bally's Kansas City.