Massachusetts Casino Revenue Dips in October, Handle Rises

October was a month of mixed results at the three Massachusetts casinos, with the total combined revenue dipping 2.6% compared to September’s numbers on a slightly higher handle.

Gaming revenues at the three facilities added up to $68,730,458 in October, compared to $70,541,635 in September.

Encore Boston Harbor had $41.1 million in Gross Gaming Revenues (slots and table games combined) in October and MGM Springfield had $17.5 million. Plainridge Park, which has slots only, checked in at $10.1 million, according to figures reported by the state Gaming Commission.

Plainridge Park was the only one of the three Massachusetts casinos to have increased revenue compared to September, when it drew $9.95 million. Encore had nearly $43 million in revenue in September and MGM took in $17.6 million.

October Handle Up Slightly

Handle (or coin in) at casinos in Massachusetts rose slightly from September to October, but again this did not happen across the board. In all, October handle was 0.26% higher than the previous month, from $604.8 million to $606.4 million.

Encore ($305.3 million in October, $303.7 million in September) and Plainridge Park (up to $135.2 million from $130.1 million) saw their handle rise last month. But MGM’s handle fell more than $5 million, from about $171 million in September to $165.7 million in October.

October continued a trend of casinos in The Bay State operating at pretty close to normal financial numbers even with reduced capacity. The three facilities closed in March as the coronavirus began to spread throughout the U.S. They reopened in July and the figures reported for Octobers were at or near those from October 2019.

The total in collected state taxes for the three casinos combined was more than $18 million for October — $10.3 million at Encore, $4.4 million at MGM and $4 million at Plainridge Park.

For resort/casino licensees, 20% of the GGR collected goes toward local aid, 15% to a transportation infrastructure fund and 14% to an education fund. The other 51% goes to fund various functions. For a parlor licensee such as Plainridge Park, 82% of the GGR goes to local aid and the other 18% goes to a Race Horse Development Fund, according to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission.