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Pennsylvania Casinos Post Good Partial Revenue Figures

Posted on August 28th, 2010

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For revenues in July, casinos in the state of Pennsylvania reported hefty gains. For 24 days alone, Presque Isle Downs & Casino generated a gross revenue of $1.5 million with its offerings of craps, blackjack, and a variety of other table games. Meanwhile, Meadows Racetrack and Casino’s revenue amounted to $1.9 million for the same month. The champion of the earning game though, is Rivers Casino, which generated at least a million dollars more than Meadows and at least double than the earnings posted by Presque Isle. This means Rivers Casino reported gross income revenues of $3 million for July. These revenue figures for 24 days of July were released by the Gaming Control Board of the state, which also contained revenues from Pennsylvania’s five other casinos.

The casinos’ different figures though, come with a note. Some of them had a head start in early July when the state implemented a staggered commencement of table games offerings. Rivers and Presque Isle, along with Meadow located in the county of Washington, started earliest on July 8. Also contributing factors to the differences in the figures of each casino are the variations in the number of people in the area, number of games offered and the different sizes of the market. Presque Isle Downs posted modest revenue despite only having 48 table games offered, which is the fewest among the eight casinos of the state. Presque Isle’s $1.5 million income has then been appropriated for various uses. The state has collected taxes totaling to $209,940, while the share of Summit Township, where Presque Isle is located, is at $29,991. This will be allocated for the construction of a community college. These figures are actually derived by a standard formula wherein all table games incur a gross revenue tax of 16 percent, 14 percent of which will go to the state and 2 percent to the local community where the casino is located. All eight casinos in the Pennsylvania combined, according to the gaming board, have accumulated total gross revenue of $15.5 million. $2.5 million of that was funneled to the state and $350,787 was allocated to the local host communities.

With these figures, though, analysts were quick to dismiss the proclamation that table gaming in the state is generally a success. Kevin O’Toole the executive director of the Gaming Control Board of Pennsylvania, in a prepared statement said that it is still too early to conclude anything about the success of table games in the state, or its effect on slot machine gaming figures, despite the noted increase of patron numbers for the month of July. The figures to be divulged in September will cover revenues for the whole month of August. One the casinos’ operators, MTR Gaming Group Inc., which is the parent company of Summit Casino, admits through its chief executive Robert Griffin, that his company is happy with the figures that have been released. He adds that Presque Isle Downs is experiencing steady growth and that he is satisfied with the performance of the facility even though it mainly serves the Erie area, which is one of Pennsylvania’s smaller markets for casinos. Griffin adds that the figures are only worth three weeks and includes a test period for the benefit of charity lasting for eight hours. Griffin said the report has also not included their efforts in player development yet, which means casino gimmicks to attract the “high rollers” by giving away amenities compliments of them, like limousine service and hotel accommodation.

Griffin’s MTR Group also plans to increase their marketing of table games in areas outside the state including Cleveland and other cities in northeastern Ohio for the next few weeks. He adds that the developments of the table games, which include an additional 503 employment opportunities for Erie residents plus revenues from taxes and licensing fees for the state have given his company a boost. The licensing fee for table games for Presque Isle Downs, despite having the smallest number of games offered, amounted to $16.5 million, paid once.