Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)
Pennsylvania’s Presque Isle Downs replicates Las Vegas-style atmosphere
ERIE, Pa. — When it opened a decade ago, Presque Isle Downs & Casino represented something entirely fresh for the Erie region.
Thanks to the Pennsylvania Racehorse Development and Gaming Act of 2004, the region had a new major employer and its own $200 million entertainment venue — one focused on the business of winning and losing and the pursuit of cold, hard cash.
After five years of planning and development, Presque Isle Downs, located off Route 97 in Summit Township, made its debut on Feb. 28, 2007.
Featuring more than 2,000 slot machines, buffets, a fine-dining restaurant, a clubhouse restaurant and lounge and a host of other amenities, the venue replicated a Las Vegas-style wagering atmosphere in northwestern Pennsylvania.
Also, the casino’s 1-mile thoroughbred track made
its debut in September 2007, bringing live horse racing back to Erie County for the first time since Erie Downs closed after the 1987 season.
The facility has hosted concerts and outdoor boxing as it has undergone several changes during the past decade, including new ownership; the addition of table games, poker and a high-limit room; and renovated bars and restaurants.
And the casino has spawned the development of new hotels, gas stations, restaurants and other businesses along Route 97.
And the players keep coming. Presque Isle Downs’ gross revenue was $118 million in the fiscal year that started July 1, 2015, and ended June 30, according to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.
The casino averaged 4,142 visitors a day in 2016, and daily payouts to gamblers of nearly $3.3 million, said Jennifer See, the casino’s director of marketing.
“I’m here two or three times a week,” 73-year-old James West, a retired maintenance worker and machine builder from Painesville, Ohio, said while playing slots at the casino this past week.
West said that he once won $20,000 at Presque Isle Downs on a single slot machine play and that he collectively won $19,000 at the casino in 2016, “although I spent a lot more than that.” Asked what keeps him coming back, West quipped, “I can smoke in here,” as he puffed a cigarette.
“And it’s really nice here. I like it better than the casinos in Cleveland,” West said “And they give me a lot of benefits. Free plays, drinks, sometimes a room.”
“Our guests, like our team members, are imperative to the success of this property,” said Jeff Favre, Presque Isle Downs’ vice president and general manager.
‘ERIE’S GOLDEN GOOSE’
The casino, however, means much more to Erie County than a good time.
The state’s gambling law requires casinos to pay millions of dollars in annual assessments to host municipalities/counties, and Erie County has received more than $104 million in casino revenues from Presque Isle Downs since the facility opened, according to financial figures from Erie County government.
That money has helped fund programs, projects and events countywide, including road, bridge and other infrastructure projects; business incubators and startups; Erie County’s library system; youth job programs; community/cultural events such as festivals; sports programs for inner-city children; free Sunday hours at the Erie Zoo, and more.
Gaming revenues also helped fund the $47 million expansion of Erie Insurance Arena and the Erie International Airport’s $80.5 million runway extension.
“I would say that Presque Isle Downs has been Erie’s golden goose,” said Perry Wood, executive director of the Erie County Gaming Revenue Authority.
Erie County receives roughly $11 million in revenues each year from Presque Isle Downs. The county keeps $5.5 million, and the other $5.5 million is distributed by the Gaming Revenue Authority, which invests the funding via grants and loans in economic and community development projects throughout the region.
“None of the funding that goes to the hundreds of nonprofits and municipalities to do creative and innovative things would be possible without local share gaming revenue,” Wood said. “You can’t underestimate the economic impact.”
Erie County Executive Kathy Dahlkemper agreed.
“The biggest impact of the casino other than being another recreational venue is the revenue it brings into the county,” Dahlkemper said, adding that the casino revenues are also used to make payments on the county’s long-term debt and award county grants to various local agencies. “It has allowed us to fund a lot of projects that affect a lot of people in this region. That’s a huge positive.”
Dave Robinson is executive director of the Union City Family Support Center, a nonprofit that provides social, health and educational services to families and children in the Union City area.
The agency has received nearly $9,274 in gambling grants from the Gaming Revenue Authority over the years, money that was used to fund programs, buy computer equipment and replace a furnace.
Also, 15 teenagers and young adults served by the Family Support Center have participated in the county’s Summer Jobs & More program, which puts low and moderate-income youth at various employers following a job-training course.
That program is partially funded by gambling revenues.
“This money has been an incredible resource for the whole county and its communities,” Robinson said. “It’s a local source of revenue that goes into local program development and local infrastructure.” But that funding is in jeopardy. The Pennsylvania Legislature is wrestling with how to come up with a permanent fix to a 2016 decision by the state Supreme Court that struck down part of the state gambling law mandating the fees that casinos pay to host communities.
State lawmakers promised last fall to fix the problem quickly, but that has yet to happen.
“They need to fix it in a way that doesn’t detrimentally impact communities,” Wood said. “We need to be made whole with whatever fix comes down the pike, and we absolutely need to retain local control over the decision-making process of how local share funds are spent.”
STAYING RELEVANT
As Presque Isle Downs enters its second decade, the venue does so while facing an expanded regional gambling market.
Seneca Allegany Casino in Salamanca, New York, Presque Isle Downs’ closest competitor, is just 80 miles east, offering both slots and table games.
The Meadows Racetrack & Casino draws gamblers to Washington County, and Rivers Casino does the same in downtown Pittsburgh, near Heinz Field.
And there is additional casino competition in northeast Ohio — three casinos in the Cleveland area.
Favre, who has testified in Harrisburg before a state Senate committee about saturation of the gambling market, said Presque Isle Downs has spent the past several years upgrading its casino floor with new carpeting, paint and revamped restaurants and bars, as well as new slot products.
“We’re putting more of an emphasis on improving both our internal and external guest experiences,” Favre said.
Reno, Nevada-based Eldorado Resorts brought Presque Isle Downs under its umbrella in 2014 after a merger with the Erie casino’s first parent company, MTR Gaming Group. The company owns casinos in five states, and in September announced that it was acquiring Isle of Capri Casinos Inc. for $1.7 billion.
That purchase will add another 12 properties to Eldorado’s gaming portfolio.
Favre said that access to Eldorado’s “capital dollars” has helped keep the casino attractive to gamblers via frequent improvements to the venue.
Pam Dennis said she appreciates the casino’s efforts to improve, upgrade and remain attractive to gamblers — even though her luck at video slots was not great.
“I’m done. I’m down to 17 cents,” Dennis, a 52-year-old human resources manager from Townville, said during a recent visit to the casino.
“Before today, I had not been here in about five years,” Dennis said. “It’s grown a lot. There are more places to eat and the place looks great. I might even be able to get my husband to come here with me now.”