Pa Slot Revenue
July 2020 August 2020 September 2020 November 2020 December 2020 January 2021 February 2021 March 2021 May 2021 June 2021 FYTD Grand Total Wagers $155,022,239.56. Pennsylvania's casinos racked up nearly 1,500 closure days, or 33% of the days the casinos would have operated normally, the gaming control board said. Traditional land-based casino revenue nearly halved. Slot-machine revenue fell by $1 billion to $1.3 billion, while table games revenue fell by $400 million to $500 million.
On Monday, February 4, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board posted on its website the January monthly report for the total revenue accrued from slot machines at the state’s licensed casino operators. Fortunately, the slot machines have continued to show year over year growth and the last month was no exception as we got to see […]On Monday, February 4, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board posted on its website the January monthly report for the total revenue accrued from slot machines at the state’s licensed casino operators. Fortunately, the slot machines have continued to show year over year growth and the last month was no exception as we got to see a 1.15 percent revenue bump in revenue.
According to the gaming control board’s report, the Keystone State’s 12 licensed casino operators cumulatively brought in more than $179 million in January 2019 which is a small but significant bump from the $177 million that was recorded over the same period last year. Of the 12 casino operators, 5 saw some pretty huge improvement in the revenue figures which, in turn, generated just enough profit to carry the entire stack into the black.
The casino that recorded the most improvement was Rivers Casino which has been posting increases in revenue for a while now – it was also the most improved casino in terms of revenues in December 2018. The casino brought in an additional $2.3 million year over year which amounted to an increase of 10.9 percent. Also making headlines in the gaming control board’s report was Valley Forge casino which posted the best percentage increase in January 2019 by – it posted a whopping 18.4 percent increase year over year for its second consecutive month.
On the flip side, Mohegan Sun Pocono and Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem have had some rather tough times in the last couple of months – both companies saw declines of up to $1 million despite posting very impressive figures over the holiday. The worst hit operator, in this case, was Lady Luck Casino Nemacolin which lost a whopping 20 percent in year over year revenue.
Pa Slot Revenue
Even though the revenue report showed improvements, general gaming revenues have not been very consistent and it is speculated that the record-breaking low temperatures in January may have something to do with it. However, it is perhaps too early to tell if this is true or not.
The State’s First Crack at the Super Bowl
Pa Slot Revenue 2019
Pennsylvania is one of the first states to launch its sports betting industry following the May 2018 Supreme Court ruling that struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) and last Sunday’s Super Bowl marked the very first time that the residents of the state could place wagers on such a huge sporting event. The big game was indeed a true test for whether the state was finally ready to dive deeper into the sports betting ecosystem which, in many ways, is expected to be a huge revenue boost for the state going forward.
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[toc]As was the case in March, strong gains in table game revenue spared the Pennsylvania casino industry from a down April.
Slot revenue continues along a negativetrajectory, with April marking the seventh consecutive month that reel games suffered a setback. Although compared to past months, April’s year-on-year decline was more subdued.
Regardless, it appears that Pennsylvania’s 12 land-based casinos are happilyinvesting more and more stock in their table games. This is likely a reflection of emergent table game technology and the sizeable tax differential between table games (16 percent tax) and slots (54 percent tax).
A tale of two gaming verticals
In April, Pennsylvania generated $79.55 million in table game revenue, representing an uptick of 10.16 percent over the year prior, and 3.34 percent normalized gains over March.
Seven out of 12 casinos posted table game revenue gains, with five registering double digit percentage upticks.
On the flip side, slot revenue slipped a bit, down -1.58 percent year-on-year to $205.7 million. For the month, slot revenue was down a shade (-2.04 percent), but up 1.23 percent when accounting for March’s slightly longer length.
In total, the industry reaped $285,25 million in April, representing a 1.44 percent uptick over last year, and a 1.81 percent normalized gain over March. Losing casinos outpaced winners, with five casinos showing revenue increases, versus seven losing ground.
Pennsylvania casino winners and losers
One of the biggest mover last month was SandsBethlehem, which registered a 10.06 percent annual uptick ($48.29 million). Sands, which is in the running to be acquired by MGM Resorts International, is hot on the heels of industry leader Parx Casino. Meanwhile, Parx only posted a 0.97 percent year-on-year gain ($49 million).
However, there’s reason to suspect Parx Casino will soon reclaim a larger advantage. It recently announced a $50 million expansion project. Although the casino doesn’t plan to add new casino games, it does intend on moving its poker room. Parx will also add a swatch of non-gaming amenities — which could attract more overall foot traffic to the venue.
By contrast, Sands put the skids on its planned $90 million expansion project, presumably due to the sales talks between MGM and Sands.
But it was PA’s smaller casinos that inked the biggest increases:
- Mt. Airy notched 11.05 percent annual gains, and increased its table game revenue by a whopping 52.85 percent.
- Category III casino Valley Forge Casino Resort saw its revenue spike by 10.92 percent to $10.75 million. Like Mt. Airy, Valley Forge saw its table game revenue skyrocket, up 17.61 percent.
The state’s only other winner was The Meadows: +7.29 percent overall, +52.85 percent in table game revenue.
On the losing side, the struggles continued for both Harrah’s Philadelphia (-4.07 percent), and Mohegan Sun Pocono (-7.59 percent). Rivers Casino was the state’s second-biggest loser (-5.56 percent), while SugarHouse Casino and Hollywood Park posted very modest declines of under 0.5 percent.
Table game expansion on the mind
In April, table game revenue comprised 27.9 percent of the state’s total gaming revenue. That represents a serious increase over last April’s split, when table games accounted for just 25.7 percent.
Still, it doesn’t surprise. In the past year, the state’s land-based casinos have devoted significantrealestate to table games and other amenities. Since April 2016, the number of table games present in the state has swelled modestly. At the same time, the amount of slot terminals dipped by 435 to 26,155.
Pa Slot Revenue Refund
This trend suggests a slow yet steady departure from the industry’s overreliance on slot terminals for gaming revenue.
Why focus on table games over slots?
But why the change in focus? There’s a few possible reasons:
- Tax rate: Put simply, PA casinos get charged through the nose on slot revenue (54 percent). This isn’t the case for table games, which are taxed at a much more reasonable 16 percent.
- Player frustration: This is pure speculation, but it’s plausible that players are redirecting their gambling dollars away from the state’s slots (which return just approximately 90 percent) to its significantly lower house edge table games.
- Emerging technologies: The rise of stadium gaming enables one or two dealers to service dozens, if not hundreds, of players simultaneously. Stadium games are taxed at the table game rate in Pennsylvania.
On a side note, should Pennsylvania pass online gambling legislation where the online tax rate mimics the land-based one — a real possibility — then online operators may also place the crux of their focus on table games.
Although even then, operators will be extremelyhard–pressed to turn a profit. Online sites are even more reliant on slot revenue than live venues. One reason being, they’re unable to offer high margin, non-gaming amenities, such as food & drink, retail outlets, and hotel rooms.
Judging by the trajectory of Pennsylvania’s land-based industry, a 54 percent tax rate on online slots would eventually result in lower online gambling revenue, and grosslynegative margins.