The three commercial casinos in the city of Detroit had a great March as their aggregated gross revenues increased by 5.7% year-on-year to reach an all-time high of $138.6 million.
According to official figures from the Michigan Gaming Control Board, the figure represented a 25.9% rise month-on-month and beat the previous combined record set in March of 2012 by some $3.3 million.
The MotorCity Casino Hotel experienced the largest gains in March as its gross revenues swelled by 9.3% year-on-year to reach $49.3 million with the Ilitch Holdings Incorporated property accounting for some 36% of the local gambling market.
Not far behind was the MGM Grand Detroit from MGM Resorts International as its gross revenues for the 31-day month rose by 7.3% year-on-year to hit $58.1 million thanks to its 42% market share.
But, the month was not successful for everyone as the Greektown Casino Hotel saw its gross revenues decline by 2.3% year-on-year to $31.2 million with the venue owned by local firm Jack Entertainment holding a market share of 22%.
The figures from the Michigan Gaming Control Board show that the trio paid $11.2 million in state gaming taxes during March, which represented an improvement of approximately 5.6% year-on-year, while their contributions to the Michigan city had totaled $16.5 million.
For the first quarter of the year, the three Detroit casinos reported a decrease of 0.1% year-on-year in aggregated gross revenues to $360.2 million despite the MGM Grand Detroit recording a 1.6% boost to $151.7 million.
For its part, the MotorCity Casino Hotel saw its gross revenues for the three-month period improve by 1.2% year-on-year to $125.6 million although the nearby Greektown Casino Hotel experienced a 4.7% downturn to $82.9 million.
The report from the Michigan Gaming Control Board explained that the trio had paid state gaming taxes of $29.18 million since the start of the year, which contrasted with $29.20 million for the comparable period in 2017.