CASINOS’ SLOTS REVENUES GAINED BACK SOME GROUND IN MARCH

Casino slot-machine revenues bounced back last month, reaching their highest levels since the summer.

Mohegan Sun reported Thursday it “won,” or kept, $43.4 million in slots revenue after paying out prizes in March, about a third more than the $32.7 million it kept in February.

Foxwoods Resort Casino kept $29.7 million in March, about a third more than the $22.5 million it kept in February.

The casinos were closed for much of the previous March due to the COVID-19 outbreak, making year-over-year comparisons meaningless.

Mohegan Sun contributed 25% of its March slots wins — about $10.9 million — to the state.

Foxwoods contributed 25% of its win — $7,422,306 — and made an additional contribution of $577,694 for a total contribution of $8 million. That enabled the Mashantucket Pequot-owned casino to meet the “minimum contribution” threshold spelled out in the tribe's revenue-sharing agreement with the state.

The agreement states that the casino’s contributions through the first nine months of the fiscal year must equal $64 million. Foxwoods has now made about $5.6 million in additional contributions over the past four months to keep pace with the minimum contribution thresholds. In addition to the extra payment in March, Foxwoods made extra payments of nearly $800,000 in December, $1.9 million in January and nearly $2.4 million in February.

Mohegan Sun has contributed $86 million to the state through the first nine months of the fiscal year, which continues through June.

Foxwoods operated an average of 2,326 slot machines during March compared with 3,461 machines during the same month the previous year. Mohegan Sun operated 2,597 slots last month compared with 4,160 machines in March 2020.