Massachusetts Casino Revenue Rises at 2 Places, Falls at 1

There was good news for Massachusetts gaming facilities in August as the Bay State’s three major casinos pulled in a total of $86 million in revenue, it was announced on Monday.

However despite positive returns for the state’s two biggest casinos, Encore Boston Harbor and MGM Springfield; revenues actually fell at its oldest facility, Plainridge Park.

Growth of Gambling

Figures released by the state's Gaming Commission show that Encore Boston Harbor posted $52.5 million in gross gambling revenues during the month. That marks an increase of 8% on revenues recorded by the newly opened Wynn-owned resort in July.

Elsewhere, MGM Springfield, which has been operating for just over a year in Western Massachusetts, showed a 3% increase on it its July revenues by raking in nearly $21 million.

Finally the Plainbridge Park slots parlor reported a modest $12.1 million in gambling revenues for the month of August, which is down about 3% from the previous month.

The results are good news for the state’s coffers, as tax revenue totaled over $24.3. In total, Massachusetts collects 49% of gambling revenues from Plainridge and 25% from both Encore and MGM. So far that has added up to more than $435 million in taxes and assessments for the three far ileitis that opened under the 2011 expanded gaming law.

Casino Specifics

Breaking down the revenue numbers for August reveals what is driving the growth of gambling in the region.

The vast majority of Encore Boston Harbor’s income, some $32.2 million, came from table games while just $20 million came from slots. That means that despite rising revenues the casinos slot takings actually fell by almost $1 million for the month.

“We’re actually adding a few more tables on the casino floor as we speak,” Encore President Bob DeSalvio said to masslive, "but I will tell you the slots business has been soft.”

It was a different story over at MGM Springfield however. Slots accounted for around three times as much revenue as table games during the month of August, with $15.6 million of the facility’s revenue coming from the machines compared to just $5.3 million from table games.

There was a similar story at the slots-only facility Plainridge Park Casino which saw players pump in $1 million more than they had done in July. However, an increase in payout percentage from 92.08% to 92.43% meant that revenues actually dropped slightly compared to the previous month.

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