Sucking $$$ out of the local economy?

Where do you think the money comes from?

FROM MASSTERLIST: 

Despite strong month, Plainridge short of year-one projections

Gross gaming revenue at the Plainridge Park slots parlor rose to $13.8 million in July, a 9 percent increase over the month before and one of the strongest months since the state’s first casino opened last year, Gintautus Dumcius of MassLive reports. For its first year of operation, Plainridge paid just over $88 million to the state, short of the $105 million in revenue projected before it opened, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission said.  Meanwhile, would-be casino operators at the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe say they want to formally be party to an ongoing federal lawsuit filed by neighbors seeking to block them from opening the First Light casino in Taunton. George Brennan of the Cape Cod Times reports that the tribe filed a request Monday to be party to likely appeals to be filed by the Department of the Interior after a federal judge ruled that officials erred when allowing the tribe to place the Taunton land into a trust.

Slots ringing at Plainville

The Lowell Sun

UPDATED:   08/15/2016

Colin A. Young

State House News Service

BOSTON -- Plainridge Park Casino had its best month of the year in July, pulling in nearly $14 million in gross revenue during the month, the Gaming Commission announced Monday.

The $13,877,522.81 in gross gaming revenue collected from the slots parlor in July is the greatest yield since August 2015, the second full month the Plainville parlor was open.

In total, players put $185,086,244.23 into Plainridge's slot machines and video table games in July -- a record amount for the slots parlor. Revenue from the gambling facility, the first to open under the 2012 expanded gaming law, is taxed at 49 percent, the Gaming Commission said, meaning the state's cut for July was $6.8 million. Of that, 82 percent -- or $5,551,021.12 -- will be returned to the state to be distributed to cities and towns as local aid and 18 percent -- or $1,248,979.75 -- will go into the Race Horse Development Fund, an account designed to sweeten purses for live horse races in Massachusetts.

Since Plainridge Park opened in June 2015, the state has collected $71,969,795.87 for local aid and another $16,193,204.07 for the horse racing fund, a total of $88,162,999.94 in collected state taxes, according to the Gaming Commission.

Once two resort casinos under development open to gamblers, Massachusetts can expect to pull in close to $300 million in annual gaming revenue and municipalities can likely plan on more state aid flowing their way, Gaming Commission Chairman Steve Crosby said on the radio last week.

http://www.lowellsun.com/breakingnews/ci_30248763/slots-ringing-at-plainville

Plainridge Park casino fined $10,000 for alcohol violations

By Dan Glaun  
Follow on Twitter 
on August 08, 2016

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission has fined Plainville's Plainridge Park Casino $10,000 for violating alcohol regulations.

The casino, which is run by Penn National Gaming, was the subject of random and unannounced compliance checks by the gaming commission's Investigations and Enforcement Bureau in April and May.

During those checks, investigators recorded violations of alcohol storage requirements and service limits, the gaming commission said in a press release.

"During the period of April 19, 2016 to May 8, 2016, gaming agents observed seven incidents of noncompliance pertaining to alcohol storage requirements involving unsecured doors to refrigerators containing alcohol," the commission said. "During the period of April 24, 2016 to May 7, 2016, IEB gaming agents observed 13 incidents of noncompliance regarding alcohol distribution. In these instances, gaming agents observed the delivery of more than two drinks to an individual patron at a time, which is contrary to regulations adopted by the Gaming Commission."

Plainridge Park waived its right to a hearing and took steps to address the violations, including new training, signage at each casino bar explaining the rules, the termination of an employee, disciplinary talks with other employees and increased managerial oversight.

"Plainridge Park Casino is committed to responsible beverage service," Plainridge Park Casino Vice President and General Manager Lance George said in a statement. "We take full responsibility for the infractions and have taken proactive steps to remedy these types of unfortunate occurrences in the future." 

Plainridge Park, which celebrated its one-year anniversary in June, pays 49 percent of its gambling revenue in taxes and has paid $81.9 million into the state coffers as of July.

It is in competition with the Twin River Casino just 11 miles away across the Rhode Island Border and has faced questions about its financial performance since state officials slashed their expectation for the gaming facility after its launch in June 2015.

The state initially expected to take in $105 million per year in tax revenues. With slots intake not meeting targets, that projection was lowered to $83 million.

But both Plainridge Park and gaming commissioner chairman Steven Crosby are sanguine about the casino's economic performance.

"I don't know anything about their internal arithmetic, but I know that they are generating more revenue per machine than most of the other casino launches in the last one or two decades," Crosby told MassLive last month. "So they're doing very well by industry standards. So I'm sure they're doing well, too."

Revenues have plateaued or dropped in recent months but are up since a low of $11.3 million in gross revenue in December. Gross gaming revenue for the casino fell to $12.3 million in June, after seeing $13.5 million in May.

http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2016/08/plainridge_park_casino_fined_1.html