Plainridge receipts are slightly higher this year
Plainridge Park Casino has generated about $157 million in gross gambling revenues since last June, or slightly higher than the $154 million it registered in its first full year, according to an Associated Press review of state data.
The modest gains come as the Plainville casino, owned by Pennsylvania-based Penn National Gaming, has taken steps in recent months to attract younger patrons by hosting rock concerts, boxing matches and other live events.
“Overall, it’s done better than I expected,” says David Gulley, an economics professor at Bentley University. “It’s always hard for a new gaming facility to live up to expectations and to maintain the initial excitement that surrounds the grand opening.”
But the annual haul is still a far cry from the $300 million initially projected for the slots parlor and harness racing track when it opened June 24, 2015.
The casino also has been tilting payouts in customers’ favor as it competes with Twin River, a larger, full-scale casino about 20 miles away in Lincoln, R.I.
Penn National Gaming officials, who declined to comment, have previously touted Plainridge Park as one of the more lucrative of their casinos.
Indeed, the casino’s 1,250 slot machines have consistently averaged above the industry standard of $300 a day in revenue, says Paul De Bole, a political science professor at Lasell College in Newton, who has been analyzing the casino’s monthly revenues.
The result has been a “significant economic plus” for the state, which collects 49 percent of Plainridge’s gambling revenues, said Stephen Crosby, chairman of the state Gaming Commission. Plainridge has generated $152 million in state funds over two years, created 500 jobs and spent nearly $2 million annually at local businesses, he said.