Pa. slots revenue down for 5th straight
month
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Gross revenue from slot machines at the state's 11
casinos declined for the fifth straight month in April, down 4 percent from the
same period the year before, state gambling regulators reported Thursday.
Casinos brought in $205.2 million in gross revenue from slots last month, or about $9 million less than the previous April, according to figures released by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.
The totals represent the latest piece of evidence that slots growth is leveling off after years of exponential growth.
The only casino to see significant slots growth during the period was Valley Forge Casino Resort, which opened outside Philadelphia in March 2012. Last month, it reported $5.4 million in gross slots revenue, up nearly 34 percent from the previous April, its first full month in operation.
Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh (up .2 percent) and Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem (up .64 percent) were the only other casinos to show an increase over April 2012.
Presque Isle Downs Casino in Erie continued to see declines as it faces competition from a new casino across the state line in Cleveland. It brought in $11.8 million in gross revenue from slots last month, down 16.3 percent from the same period a year earlier.
The Meadows Racetrack and Casino in central Pennsylvania saw the second-largest decline, down 9.7 percent. Harrah's Philadelphia, which is in the struggling city of Chester in the crowded Philadelphia market, was down 8 percent. Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs in northeastern Pennsylvania was down 7.1 percent.
The state's first casino opened in 2006, and Pennsylvania has grown into the nation's second-largest gambling market behind Las Vegas. The state uses casino revenue to support the state budget, schools, development projects, volunteer firefighting squads, local governments and horse racing.
Casinos brought in $205.2 million in gross revenue from slots last month, or about $9 million less than the previous April, according to figures released by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.
The totals represent the latest piece of evidence that slots growth is leveling off after years of exponential growth.
The only casino to see significant slots growth during the period was Valley Forge Casino Resort, which opened outside Philadelphia in March 2012. Last month, it reported $5.4 million in gross slots revenue, up nearly 34 percent from the previous April, its first full month in operation.
Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh (up .2 percent) and Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem (up .64 percent) were the only other casinos to show an increase over April 2012.
Presque Isle Downs Casino in Erie continued to see declines as it faces competition from a new casino across the state line in Cleveland. It brought in $11.8 million in gross revenue from slots last month, down 16.3 percent from the same period a year earlier.
The Meadows Racetrack and Casino in central Pennsylvania saw the second-largest decline, down 9.7 percent. Harrah's Philadelphia, which is in the struggling city of Chester in the crowded Philadelphia market, was down 8 percent. Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs in northeastern Pennsylvania was down 7.1 percent.
The state's first casino opened in 2006, and Pennsylvania has grown into the nation's second-largest gambling market behind Las Vegas. The state uses casino revenue to support the state budget, schools, development projects, volunteer firefighting squads, local governments and horse racing.
While slots growth has been slowing,
table games, which were introduced in 2010, still show strong growth. In March,
the state set a record for gross revenue from table games, pulling in $67.5
million in gross revenue, 9 percent more than the previous record that had been
set a year earlier.
Taxpayer Subsidies of the Dead Horse Racing Industry --
Portfolio: Horse racing fund continues decline
Continuing a trend of steady declines, revenues from slot machines at Pennsylvania’s six racetrack casinos were down 7.4 percent for the month of April compared to the same month in 2012. The decrease in slots revenue caused funding for the state’s Race Horse Development Fund – which supports live horse racing and breeding in the state – to decrease by $1.77 million for the month of April.
“Slots revenues at Pennsylvania’s racetrack casinos have now fallen for nine of the last 10 months, which has resulted in a 6.14 percent or $14.3 million drop this fiscal year in funding to support horse racing and breeding in the state,” said Pete Peterson, spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Equine Coalition. “It is becoming increasingly clear that this is not an anomaly, but a trend that will continue due to the increasing competition from casino gaming in other states.”
The Pennsylvania Equine Coalition projects that funds to the Race Horse Development Fund will fall $28.5 million short of the governor’s initial budget projections released in February. In March, the administration took the unusual step of downwardly revising its budget projections for the Race Horse Development Fund, but the coalition projects the fund will still fall short of those revised figures by roughly $17 million this fiscal year.
The Pennsylvania legislature legalized casino gaming in the state as part of an effort to save and revitalize the horse racing and breeding industry, and it succeeded. According to the Department of Agriculture, as a result of casino gaming, the economic impact of the racing industry in Pennsylvania more than quadrupled and employment tripled from 13,870 to more than 41,100.
“Pennsylvania has been a success story, a model for other states,” continued Peterson. “But the diversion of money from the racing fund will hurt an industry that is already experiencing funding declines and undermine the confidence of the industry ...”
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