US casinos hit historic jackpot with record-breaking revenue
US casinos generated $5.3 billion in revenue in March
America's casinos get 'lucky,' rake in record $5.3B in March
FOX Business' Jeff Flock reports from Atlantic City, New Jersey, where U.S. casinos are seeing their best earnings month ever.
America’s casinos have gotten lucky this year after earnings hit a record-setting jackpot.
March marked the biggest month ever for U.S. casinos, raking in $5.3 billion in revenue and capping the quarter as the highest-grossing revenue month in industry history, according to the American Gaming Association. It also reported that nationwide gaming revenue totaled $14.3 billion in the first quarter of 2022, setting a new record and nearly matching the all-time quarterly record of $14.35 billion set in the fourth quarter of 2021.
While total revenue for 2022 shot up 20% year-over-year, Las Vegas remained the casino king last year generating $7.05 billion, followed by Atlantic City with $2.75 billion.
Chicago, which announced last week that it will welcome a new Bally’s location, reported the third-highest revenue with just over $2 billion.
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Reporting outside of Bally’s on Atlantic City’s boardwalk, FOX Business’ Jeff Flock explained how gaming and betting can be seen as "inflation-proof."
As U.S. casinos earn a record-setting $14.3 billion in Q1 revenues, some market experts are warning the high roller action is a sign of the "inflationary times." (Getty Images)
"The prices don't go up to gamble," Flock noted. "You can either put a dollar in a slot machine, or you can put a quarter in a slot machine if you don't have a dollar."
Reacting to the news, Trivago CEO Axel Hefer predicted a high roller season coming for the casino industry.
"We think this summer will be very, very strong," Heifer told FOX Business’ Liz Claman on "The Claman Countdown" Thursday. "Consumers around the world just need a break, and they just need to travel to get a break, so that I think will counter the inflation argument."
But, some market experts insist the gaming action is indeed a sign of the "inflationary times."
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Casino industry rebounds from pandemic
The transition from mostly in-person gambling at casinos to relying more on mobile apps signals a shift in the gaming industry as a result of the pandemic.
"When you put trillions and trillions of dollars into society, you're going to have some people going for bitcoin, you're going to have some people going for casinos," Optimal Capital’s Frances Newton Stacy said in response to Flock’s report.
"I just think it's those people that we were speaking about earlier that are trying to get an edge, get rich quick, get lucky."