Massachusetts first gambling venue saw its revenue dropped by more than 5 percent in October—it’s worst month since January.
According to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, the Plainridge Park Casino’s gross gaming revenue for October dropped to $12.58 million from the $12.81 million generated in September.
The Plainville-based casino’s total bets was up 20 percent from January. However, the casino has also decided to boost its payouts in order to build “a durable customer base,” according to The Boston Globe report.
In fact, Plainridge Park had more wins per spin delivered in October since it opened in June 2015, which, in turn, resulted in happier players but lower profits. Last year, the casino’s machines kept close to 10 cents per dollar, but in October, it held 7.2 percent of wagers. And with “coin in” approaching $175 million, every change in the payout percentage is bound to affect the casino’s revenues.
The casino must also pay 49 percent of its revenue to the state.
Paul DeBole, assistant political science professor at Lasell College in Newtown and a specialist in gambling regulation, told the news outlet that October’s numbers marked a “lackluster performance” for the casino.
“If the hold is about 7 percent and about half of that goes to the state right off the top, that doesn’t leave much to pay all the bills and still take a profit,” DeBole said, according to the report.
Plainridge Park Casino, operated by Penn National Gaming, opened to the public last June 24. The $250-million casino is an integrated racing and gaming facility that includes live harness-racing track in Plainville, Massachusetts. Its gaming area features 1,250 of slot machines, video poker, and video blackjack, among others, but it doesn’t have table games.
The casino took in $160 million in its first year, falling well short of forecasts. And in the first quarter of this fiscal year, Plainridge’s revenue has fallen off 11 percent over the same span last year.
