State’s casinos see climb in revenue
After spending a difficult four months dealing with fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, the state’s 12 casinos reported a profitable surge in August. However, the numbers showed an evolving gaming landscape.
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board reported that total gaming and fantasy contest revenue in August was $310.7 million, a year-over-year increase of 6%.
The increase in revenue was pushed by digital gaming, as traditional in-person slots and table games were still down over the year, though numbers have been going back up since casinos have reopened. Total slots revenue was $167 million, down 19% from August 2019, and table games were at $65.1 million, down 14.5% from the previous year.
On the other hand, internet gaming saw substantial increases as it takes hold in the state. I-Gaming revenue was $56 million, compared to $3.4 million in August 2019. Slots led the way at $39.6 million and table games were $13.5 million.
With sports making a comeback, sports wagering continued to see month-over-month increases in August. The total handle for the month was about $365 million, up from $164.7 million in July. Furthermore, August’s handle represents year-over-year growth of 234.7% from August 2019, when Pennsylvania sportsbooks managed to attract $109 million in bets.
“The continuing build-up of online and mobile sports betting, in addition to online casinos and poker rooms, is paying enormous dividends,” said Dustin Gouker, lead analyst for PlayPennsylvania. com, in a statement. “Some gamblers appear to still be reluctant to visit casinos in person, and technology is bridging that gap.”
Wyomissing-based Penn National Gaming Inc. had a good month with its Hollywood Casino at Penn National in Dauphin County with year-overyear revenue increasing 33% to $28.5 million. Slots were down 22.5% to $13.5 million, but table games were up 2.4% to $3.05 million. I-gaming took in $11.7 million and the sports book had revenue of $185,455.
Penn National’s other property, The Meadows in Washington County, saw a 26.5% decrease over the year to $15.3 million. Slots were down 33.7% to $11.6 million and table games were down 27.6% to $2.3 million. Total revenue for sports wagering at $1.3 million.’
The Valley Forge Casino in Upper Merion Township, Montgomery County saw a 88.36% over-the-year jump with total revenue of $27.7 million in August. Doing the heavy lifting was I-Gaming with revenue of $8.7 million and sports wagering with total revenue of $9.1 million. Both types of retail games saw losses yearover-year.
Another casino showing an increase was Rivers Casino Philadelphia with revenue of $39.5 million, which was 39.5% better than August 2019. Its IGaming brought in $17.1 million.
Harrah’s Philadelphia, Chester, saw a loss of 1.72% with total revenue of $20.4 million. It saw an increase of 19.1% in table games to $5.7 million.
Parx Casino, Bensalem, Bucks County, was up 7% to $58.5 million, making it the highest-grossing casino in the state.
Revenue for video gaming terminals was led by Penn National-owned Marquee by Penn, which had revenue of $1.7 million for the month with machines in 21 establishments.