The Pennsylvania slot machine revenue reached its largest month-over-month gains since February 2016 with 5.4 percent in revenue in March 2018.
This figure compares to March 2017 for the 12 Pennsylvania casinos is part of a monthly report released by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB).
The combined gross revenue generated in March 2018 was $221,350,220. The prior March, that number was almost $209,984,147.
While annually PGCB brings in $1.4 billion in tax revenue from slot machine and table gameplay, March brought in $115.5 million. On average, 25, 815 slot machines operated throughout Pennsylvania in March 2018. Comparatively, 26, 222 slot machines operated in 2017 for the month of March. That’s a change of 407 machines.
In March 2017, PA was down 0.60 percent with almost $210 million in revenues from slot machine gaming.
10 casinos report gains in slot machine revenue
March tells a different tale than February, where slot machine revenue was down 1.7 percent. Parx Casino led the way with $32.7 million in February 2018, with Harrah’s Philadelphia, Valley Forge Casino Resort, and Presque Isle Downs and Casino also looking back on February favorable. But they were the only ones.
This month is different. Valley Forge Casino Resort experienced 11.53 percent gain in slot machine revenue in March 2018, moving from about $7.2 million in revenue to about $8.2 million. The casino was also the big winner of table games revenue in January. Valley Forge was up almost 46 percent.
There were also more casinos that can call March 2018 a good month. Presque Isle Downs and Casino reported an 11.53 percent change in revenue from almost $9.5 million to $10.6 million.
These casinos also found some March madness:
- Rivers Casino (~$26.6 million in revenue in March 2018, increase of 9.45 percent)
- Parx Casino (~$37.5 million, up 9.01 percent)
- Mohegan Sun Pocono (~$19.1 million, reported change of 6.42 percent)
Beyond these three, five casinos experienced gains under five percent in March 2018.
- SugarHouse Casino (~$17.9 million in revenue in March 2018; up 4.82 percent)
- Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem (~$27.8 million, change of 3.10 percent)
- The Meadows Racetrack and Casino (~$19.8 million, uptick of 2.95 percent)
- Harrah’s Philadelphia Casino and Racetrack (~$19.0 million, increase of 2.33 percent)
- Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course (~$20.0 million, up 1.24 percent)
Two casinos dipped in March 2018
Two casinos reported little change in March 2018: Mount Airy Casino Resort (-1.40 percent) and Lady Luck Casino Nemacolin (-0.08 percent).
Racetrack gains incoming?
Another recent report from the PGCB found an uptick in wagers on Pennsylvania races by patrons outside the Commonwealth. he six racetracks posted three percent in gains, with over $700 million waged in 2017.
Slot machines generated $239 million in tax money for the horse racing industry last year, with 10 percent of all revenue from PA casino slot machines earmarked for the Pennsylvania Race Horse Development Trust Fund. That was a 2.5 percent decrease compared to 2016.
More growth could come with pari-mutuel wagering on the horse races and increased marketing.
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