Pennsylvania Casino Revenue Flat in October

In October, Pennsylvania’s casinos noted a slight 1.21% decrease in their slot revenue, which was offset by a 1.76% increase in their table game revenue, resulting in a realtively flat month for the market, overall.
All told, revenues came in at $261.94 million last month, or down by 0.41% compared to the same month in 2016, with table games accounting for $72.41 million of that total, and slots the remaining $189.52 million. As a result, the Keystone State’s slot revenue have now fallen in twelve out of the last thirteen months, with just September’s increase of 1.7% bringing a brief respite from the slump.
Out of Pennsylvania’s twelve casinos, just four posted year-on-year increases in October, with the others noting decreases of between 0.20% and 8.92%.
Leading the market in terms of growth was the Mount Airy Casino Resort up by 12.53%, followed by Lady Luck Casino Nemacolin up 5.98%, Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem up 3.93%, and Parx Casino up 1.61%.
On the other side of the coin, the long list of casinos seeing their year-on-year business decline included Valley Forge Casino Resort (-0.20%), Harrah’s Philadelphia (-1.28%), The Meadows Casino (-1.59%), Presque Isle Downs and Casino (-1.77%), Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course (-1.88%), Rivers Casino (-4.01%), SugarHouse Casino (-7.64%), and Mohegan Sun Pocono (-8.92%).
In 2011, Pennsylvania’s casino market generated $3.02 billion in revenue, representing the first time it had surpassed $3 billion mark. It has subsequently stayed above that level ever since, and 2016 collected $3.21 billion, which was 5.6% higher than the previous year, as well as being an all-time high for the state.
As mentioned, slots revenues have been declining for the past year, though, and recently Pennsylvania opted to approve a wide ranging expansion of its gambling market, including becoming just the fourth state in the US to embrace online gambling. In addition, video slots terminals will be allowed to be placed at truck stops, and airports, across the state, as well as at the 10 new mini-casinos that will be opened up to compliment Pennsylvania’s already exisiting casinos. Commenting on the far reaching expansion program, Joe Weinert, executive VP of consultancy firm Spectrum Gaming Group, stated:
“It’s one of the most aggressive gambling expansion bills I’ve seen in any state that already had casinos.”