“Early Labor Day kept gamblers away,” read the headline on a Jefferies Equity Research investor note. Its findings for lackluster September casino visitation were released October 19.
Jefferies reported that foot traffic at United States casinos slumped 8.5 percent from September 2024. Compared to September 2019, it dropped a further 19.5 percent.
Analyst David Katz said that September 2025’s casino visitation was the third worst of the year. He blamed the Labor Day holiday, which fell early, on September 1 this year.
Although September 2025 had one less weekend day than the previous year ‘s, it contained a Monday holiday. Still, the timing of Labor Day came at the very start of the month, “meaning the lift from the long weekend was largely realized in August.”
For the year, casino foot traffic is trending down by 5.6 percent. “Still, September regional [gross gaming revenue] numbers continued the strong trend we’ve seen since the late spring,” Katz allowed.
Further offsetting the dismal visitation numbers, gambling volume was 19.5 percent higher than in 2019. “Still, we anticipate trends will continue to stabilize into year-end, as [comparisons] have started to ease vs. prior-year levels,” Katz wrote.
The analyst contended that the ongoing shortfall compared to 2019 showed the amount of space available for a continuation of recent potency in gross gambling revenues. He pointed to the debuts of new Hollywood Joliet in Illinois and Roseshire in Virginia as “positive drivers for traffic trends.”
State-by-state fluctuations were inconsistent. Pennsylvania saw casino traffic dip three percent in September 2025 but improve 12.5 percent when compared to 2019. Massachusetts was down 4.2 percent from 2024 and 18.3 percent from 2019. Growing rivalry from New Hampshire casinos was blamed for the Bay State’s declivity.
Atlantic City visitor volumes sank 11.7 percent year over year and 29.5 percent compared to before COVID. Numbers were similar in Illinois — off 12.9 percent from 2024 and 25.2 percent from 2019.
“Our take is that the monthly performance reflects the volatile path toward the normalization of traffic trends post-COVID, as well as the heightened competition and renovations in specific locations,” Katz opined.
Construction-related disruptions in Detroit didn’t help Hollywood Greektown. Detroit casinos overall were down 13.8 percent from the year before and 30.6 percent off their 2019 pace.
Results from Kentucky and Black Hawk, Colorado, were clouded by infusions of new product. Bluegrass State gambling houses dipped 1.3 percent from September 2024, while Black Hawk was 3.6 percent dented.
“We continue to believe regional gaming is better positioned for growth in the near term compared to Las Vegas, where expectations for the Strip are confirmed to be low until the group slate accelerates,” was Katz’s assessment.
However, he anticipated better results nationwide from Caesars Entertainment, due to what he called “its revamped customer-reinvestment strategy.” Katz also foresaw good things from Churchill Downs, as its newer casinos ramp upwards.
“More specifically,” he concluded, “we are focused on seeing improved results from the opening of The Rose Gaming Resort, the newly opened Roseshire Henrico, Virginia, property, and wait for additional detail on the recently acquired property in Salem, New Hampshire,” whose purchase closed not long ago.
