Foot traffic at U.S. casinos rose 2.4 percent in July, according to Jefferies Equity Research analyst David Katz. It lagged July 2019 visitation by 7.3 percent.

However, casino revenue per visitor last month exceeded that in the comparable period of 2019, Katz reported. He added that the news was “modestly positive” for Penn Entertainment, Boyd Gaming, Churchill Downs, Caesars Entertainment, and Monarch Casinos & Resorts, all companies with significant regional exposure.

Katz noted a sequential improvement in casino-traffic data from the first quarter of 2024, when the industry was beset with bad weather. July, he said, was the year’s strongest month to date.

Despite an extra weekend in July 2023, its numbers couldn’t keep pace with 2024’s. Katz expected casino visitation to continue to stabilize throughout the balance of the year, as comparisons so far had been “challenging” against 2023 data.

“Additionally,” he wrote, “the Street remains on guard for the impact of macro trends on earnings levels, including higher costs for insurance, utilities, and labor, that have challenged markets unevenly.”

Visitation trends were generally — but not universally — higher in non-Las Vegas markets. Ohio’s casinos and racinos were up 3.7 percent, while Pennsylvania’s were 7.5 percent more robust.

Atlantic City was 1.5 percent higher last year, but still lagged 2019 by 5.4 percent. Illinois is 6.2 percent behind 2019, but its casinos (where there has been an influx of new product) saw foot traffic rise 8.1 percent.

“Our take is that the monthly performance reflects the ongoing normalization of traffic trends post-COVID, where volatility remains, as well as from competition in specific locations,” Katz opined.

Outliers were Detroit and Black Hawk, Colorado. The former was 2.1 percent busier than last year, while Black Hawk was 3.3 percent higher. Yet Detroit’s casino tourism fell 19.3 percent from 2019, while Black Hawk’s shot up 16.5 percent from five years previous.

New product didn’t swell Kentucky’s numbers, down 1.8 percent from July 2023, despite several recent openings of slot parlors.

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