The Michigan Gaming Control Board has announced that Detroit’s three casinos collectively generated $111.3 million in adjusted gross revenue (AGR) for May, reflecting a significant rise from the previous year’s figures. This amount marks a 6.3% increase compared to May 2023 and a 4.7% increase from April’s $107.9 million.

The cumulative AGR for the first five months of 2024 stands at $540.1 million, which is marginally down by less than 0.1% from the same period in 2023. This near-parity in year-over-year revenue underscores the robust performance of Detroit’s casino sector.

From this revenue, the state received $9 million in taxes from the three casinos. Although this figure is close to the $43.8 million collected over the same period last year, it falls short by just $30,000. The city of Detroit, on the other hand, garnered $13.2 million in taxes for May, bringing its year-to-date total to $64.3 million, which is $4 million less than the same timeframe in 2023.

It’s noteworthy that the revenue figure does not account for the $1.9 million in winnings from the city’s three retail sportsbooks, which achieved a combined hold rate of 16.8% against an $11.1 million handle, setting a year-best record, according to the Michigan Gaming Control Board.

Greektown Casino in the Lead

Among the three casinos, Greektown Casino saw the most significant year-over-year revenue increase in percentage terms. The PENN Entertainment-owned casino reported $25.7 million in earnings for May, a 10.3% rise from the previous year. Greektown also stands out as the only casino with year-to-date revenue growth, reaching $124.4 million, up by 1.4% from the first five months of 2023.

MGM Grand Detroit exceeded the $50 million revenue mark for May, recording $51.9 million. This represents a 5.3% increase from May 2023 and a 4.1% rise from April’s $49.9 million. Year-to-date, MGM Grand’s revenue is $252.3 million, just 0.8% less than the same period in 2023.

MotorCity Casino reported a 4.9% increase in revenue year-over-year, totaling $33.7 million for May. This increment nearly aligns its year-to-date earnings with the previous year’s figures, with $163.5 million in total winnings, slightly shy by $105,200 compared to 2023.

Great Month for Retail Sportsbooks

In May 2024, all three retail sportsbooks achieved double-digit hold rates for the first time this year. MotorCity led with an impressive 23.2% win rate, earning $833,400 from $3.6 million in wagers. This marks the third consecutive month where MotorCity’s hold rate exceeded 13.5%, elevating its year-to-date hold to 11.3%, with total winnings of $2.9 million.

MGM Grand’s sportsbook, BetMGM, posted a 17.5% hold, its highest since September 2022’s 17.8% win rate. The sportsbook generated $546,600 from a $3.1 million handle, pushing its all-time handle past $300 million. Greektown Casino’s sportsbook recorded the highest handle at $4.4 million but had the lowest hold rate at 11%, translating to $488,500 in revenue.

Despite a 34.2% decrease in overall handle from May 2023, revenue from retail sportsbooks more than doubled due to an 11.3 percentage point increase in the hold rate. The strong performance in early 2024 has maintained better year-to-date numbers compared to 2023, with total wagers of $81.1 million up by 10.3%, and revenue soaring by 83.8% to $5.4 million. The 6.7% hold for 2024 is also an improvement, being 2.7 percentage points higher than the first five months of 2023.