Massachusetts’ newest casino staged a minor rebound in November while the state’s other two gaming venues reported record low results.
Figures released Monday by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) show that Wynn Resorts’ new Encore Boston Harbor casino generated total gaming revenue of $47.3m in November, around $1.5m better than October’s record low result.
Encore’s gains were across the board, as its slots revenue rose $500k to $22.8m, the property’s best slots result since its late-June opening. However, November’s slots handle of $286.9m was still well below the property’s peak of $359.2m in August, which was waylaid by Encore posting its lowest slots hold (5.63%).
Encore’s table game revenue increased by $1m to just over $24.5m, and while this was better than October’s low, it’s still only the second-worst showing in the property’s five full months of operation.
The company is clearly hoping this is just the start of a major table rebound, as the property announced mid-November that it was cutting its table game bet minimums from $50 to $15 after determining that the casino was pricing itself out of the local market.
Things were less rosy on the state’s southwestern border, where MGM Resorts’ MGM Springfield reported revenue of $19.9m, down nearly $1.2m from the month before and the lowest total in the property’s 15-month history. MGM’s tables were fingered as the culprit, as slots posted a modest gain from the month before.
Penn National Gaming’s slots-only Plainridge Park Casino suffered a similar indignity in November, as its revenue fell to just under $11m, its lowest monthly revenue total in its four-plus years of operation.
PNG execs recently expressed concern that the impact on Plainridge’s business from Wynn’s Encore has been greater than expected. The Plainridge venue’s diminished returns were cited as a major factor in PNG failing to meet its Q3 earnings projections.
