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Perryville Casino: $2 Million in Slots Income in Four Days

Posted on October 22nd, 2010

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The first casino in the state of Maryland to host slot machines in decades has so far reported success in its first days of operations. The Hollywood Casino Perryville, in a span of four days of operation, has generated revenue totaling more than $2 million according to a report on Wednesday by the Maryland State Lottery. The casino is barely a month old and opened its doors only last Sept. 27. For the first four days of operations, an estimated 27,600 people visited the casino. Each of the 1,500 slot machines the casino houses collected an average of $346 every day. The state had projected for each machine to collect $210 a day based on a study in 2007 by the Department of Legislative Services. This means that the casino has over-performed and it has surpassed estimates that were initially presented for better conditions, right before the economic downturn of 2008.

Analysts of the casino industry claim that the report on the slot casino’s initial revenue gives an encouraging tone for the rest of the industry. However, they claim that it is also not surprising, considering that casinos really draw huge crowds in their first weeks. Moreover, the casino located in Cecil County does not have any competition as of the moment, as it is Maryland’s only gambling facility. Analysts of Union Gaming Research, a firm in Las Vegas, commented, “While we expect win [per] day to moderate over time given typically high traffic volumes surrounding the grand opening of casinos, we believe initial win [per] day was likely well above expectations.” As for the rest of 2010, Union Gaming projects that each machine will bring $180 daily revenue. The months of October to December are usually one of the casino industry’s slower periods.

The Perryville facility has so far gone off to a very exciting start, with its opening happening days ahead of the original plan. With the strong start by the slots casino, the casino industry sees this as a good omen for better things to come for the industry. It is expected that the casino will present more job opportunities to Marylanders and will funnel more money to the state for programs and possibly to close in a budget gap. The general manager of the casino, Himbert Sinopoli, said, “We had a fantastic start to things.” Sinopoli admitted that the initial revenue will not be the figures they would be expecting from the casino forever, but they did surpass the expectations of the management. A 2008 referendum gave the proponents of slot machines of the state the green light to build facilities in five locations in the state. The last time slot machines have been allowed here was in the 1960s. Besides this facility, another facility to open this year in Maryland will be one on the eastern Shore area, at the Ocean Downs racetrack. As for the three other locations, two of them, the ones in Baltimore and at Arundel Mills, are currently delayed because of legal obstructions. The facility in Rocky Gap has yet to find a suitable license holder.

As for the $2 million revenue the Perryville casino has incurred in September, almost half of it, or close to 49 percent, will be allotted to the Maryland Education Trust Fund. This was affirmed by Stephen Martino, the director of Maryland Lottery by saying, “The money generated from slots will benefit many important state programs, most significantly public education.” The rest of the funds will be divided among several sectors, including the owner of the casino. Penn National Gaming will be entitled to 33 percent, or $685,026.71 of the slots revenue. Other parties to take part will be the aryland Lottery; the horse-racing purse account of the state and an account for racetrack facility renewal. The local governments of Cecil County and Perryville will also receive their share of the slots income. The percentage that each of these groups receive have been set by laws of the state. The city of Perryville is set to receive more or less $40,000, and the mayor, James L. Eberhardt shas been quoted in saying that the city was eager to get its share. The funds, according to the mayor, are expected to go to public safety, with the inclusion of hiring more police officers and purchasing equipment.