The numbers for the Hollywood Casino in West Virginia are looking good, even before their online casino offering goes live on ESPN Bet. (Image: Cal Sport Media / Alamy)

In one of the smaller casino markets in the US, the Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races, located about 60 miles west of Washington, DC, is showing that West Virginia casinos shouldn’t be ignored. 

On the site of a horse racing track that opened in 1933, this casino cracked the American Gaming Association’s top 20 list of revenue generators for casinos outside of Nevada for Q3. 

Hollywood Charles Town came in at #18, behind the Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh and Horseshoe Indianapolis, and ahead of the Southland Casino in Arkansas and the Golden Nugget Lake Charles in Louisiana. 

Small State, Big Revenue

The Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races generated about $80 million in the third quarter of 2023, according to an AGA compilation of regulatory filings. 

This figure includes revenue from slots, table games and retail sports betting, but does not include online sports betting or online casino games. 

Land-based casino gaming revenue, not including Nevada. The Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races is putting West Virginia on the map. (Image: courtesy of American Gaming Association)

The AGA’s Top 20 land-based casino gaming revenue earners for Q3:

1. Resorts World (NY): $230 million
2. Borgata (NJ): $205 million
3. MGM National Harbor (MD): $203 million
4. Encore Boston Harbor (MA): $180 million
5. Live! Casino Maryland (MD): $175 million
6. Hard Rock Atlantic City (NJ): $150 million
7. Parx Bensalem (PA): $147 million
8. Empire City (NY): $147 million
9. MGM Grand Detroit (MI): $145 million
10. Wind Creek Casino (PA): $138 million
11.  Rivers Des Plaines (IL): $133 million
12. Bally’s Twin River (RI): $129 million
13. Ocean Casino (NJ): $119 million
14. Hard Rock Northern Indiana (IN): $103 million
15. Motor City (MI): $96 million
16. Rivers Pittsburgh (PA): $88 million
17. Horseshoe Indianapolis (IN): $83 million
18. Hollywood at Charles Town (WV): $80 million
19. Southland (AR): $73 million
20. Golden Nugget Lake Charles (LA): $71 million

The AGA says that Q3 2023, with $16.3 billion generated across land-based casino gaming, sports betting, and igaming, was the second-most successful quarter in US commercial gaming history. It coincides with the 11th consecutive quarter of revenue growth for the industry in the US.

The Hollywood Casino at Charles Town in West Virginia is on a revenue fast track. (Image: courtesy of Cal Sport Media / Alamy)

ESPN + Hollywood in West Virginia 

The biggest revenue growth continues to be in sports betting and online casino play – two areas that are expected to grow even more dramatically as a partnership between ESPN Bet and Penn Entertainment, parent company of Hollywood Casinos, takes shape in West Virginia. 

The Hollywood Casino online site, HollywoodCasino.com, began shutting down its legacy website on Monday and will cease operations fully on Thursday. 

ESPN Bet went live in 17 states with legal online sports betting in November. But PENN Entertainment announced in August that its Hollywood Casinos brand would bring an online casino offering to the ESPN Bet app in four states with legal igaming, including West Virginia. 

No official launch date has been set for when this online and mobile offering will go live, but industry analysts expect Hollywood Casino WV to be live as early as January, before the Super Bowl and as the NFL Playoffs kick into full gear.