Big Ed's BBQ
Your performance · September 2026
The four numbers operators read first
Against locations your size (6+ terminals, 6,823 of them), your NTI/machine is −$2,457/mo vs the $4,988 peer median — bucketing by size keeps a small bar from being measured against a big one.
Where the money goes (September 2026)
Illinois law fixes the after-tax split at 50/50 and bans any deviation (230 ILCS 40/25(c)) — about $4,936 to you and $4,936 to your operator this month. Neither side can move that split. That's the whole point of The Gameset: with the split set by statute, operators compete for your gameset on service — games, cabinets, refresh cadence, response time.
Where your gameset stands
You earn a strong hold from steady traffic — the lever here is drawing more play, not squeezing the machines.
What an operator sees: An operator sees a well-run, efficient gameset — attractive, with upside if foot traffic can be grown.
2 peer locations sit beyond the axis range and are drawn at the edge — shown, never dropped.
Each gray dot is another Waukegan gameset for the same month, shown without identity. The dashed lines are the statewide medians — which quadrant you land in is the positioning above, drawn out.
Trend
Cycle rate is a leading indicator: when players start cycling their money fewer times, it usually shows up here before it shows up in NTI — an early read on gameset health for you and for an operator.
These are the two series a service change shows up in. Fresher titles and faster response tend to move win per unit first; hold follows the game mix. Both are your own numbers against a neutral market line — not a verdict on anyone.
Your town's market
Waukegan's total gaming income is +4% year over year (trailing 3 months vs the same 3 a year ago).
Your own gameset is +503% over the same-month-last-year comparison — holding up as well as or better than the town around you.
A deeper operator read
The same history, cut the way a Terminal Operator cuts it when they decide how hard to compete for your gameset.
Your operator
Linked to your Location as of August 2026 — the Illinois Gaming Board publishes this each month, so a recent change may not show yet.
Year over year
Your NTI is +503% up year over year, outpacing the Lake County market (+3%).
Takeaways
Operators bid on what they'd put in your gameset — newer cabinets, better titles, faster fixes. We'll turn your profile into an anonymized Listing they compete on.
Full September 2026 report detail
Source: Illinois Gaming Board monthly video gaming reports. This is public data about your own licensed Location, shown for informational purposes.