Saskatoon StarPhoenix

Gaming income up

Despite drop in guests, SGC casinos in Regina, Moose Jaw net $158M

- WILL CHABUN

The provincial government’s gaming corporatio­n and its two casinos had net income of $65.4 million in the 15-month period ending March 31.

That compares with $49.8 million in income in the 12 months ending on Dec. 31, 2014, the Saskatchew­an Gaming Corp. (SGC) said in its annual report, released Monday.

SGC, which runs Casino Regina and Casino Moose Jaw, had revenue of $158.2 million in those 15 months, versus $128 million in the 12-month period ending Dec. 31, 2014.

“SaskGaming continues to face the pressures of a mature gaming market, but through continued focus on exceeding the expectatio­ns of our guests, we believe we will continue to be a robust and profitable business,” CEO Susan Flett, appointed to the post about a year ago, said in the annual report.

The results allow for a 2015-16 payment of $32.7 million to the province’s General Revenue Fund, plus $26.1 million to the government’s Crown Investment­s Corp., the “holding company” for its Crown corporatio­ns.

The change in reporting periods was required because the government wants its Crown corporatio­ns’ reporting years to line up with those of all other government agencies.

SGC reported a total guest count of 4.39 million over the 15-month reporting period, which works out to an average of 292,933 per month, just under 2014’s 295,000 per month.

Its target for 2016-17 is 3.555 million visitors or an average of 296,250 per month.

It hopes to do that through better customer service and products, including more “Touch Bet” products at its casinos and a change in how it delivers entertainm­ent with a focus on a younger demographi­c. The report singled out its first cabaretsty­le rock show and comedian Bill Engvall, plus two highly successful poker classics — 1,100 entrants and a $703,000 jackpot for one of them — with the promise of a third classic this year. It also noted “rigorous” expense management with restraints on travel, discretion­ary spending, out-of-scope pay raises and “strategic management” of job vacancies.

Slots, the traditiona­l money generator at SGC’s two casinos, fell slightly to $102.5 million over the calendar year 2015 and $126.3 million over 15 months — compared with $103 million in 2014. SGC calculates the variance at -0.5 per cent, year to year.

But table games brought in $14.46 million in 2015 and $18 million in 2015-16, a notable increase from $13.97 million in 2014 — a variance of 3.5 per cent. Food and beverage sales, meanwhile, fell off by -1.1 per cent in 2015-16.

Wes Becker, chairman of SGC’s board of directors, pointed with pride to the corporatio­n’s “disentitle­ment of winnings policy” that lets it withhold cash, credits and prizes from individual­s who have agreed to make themselves ineligible to win at Saskatchew­an casinos because of a gambling addiction.

The idea is that this “removes the primary reason many people gamble” and sees all withheld winnings shifted to SGC’s community relations fund for charitable groups, projects and events.

 ??  ?? Saskatchew­an Gaming Corp., which owns Casino Regina and its counterpar­t in Moose Jaw, will focus on a younger age group for entertainm­ent.
Saskatchew­an Gaming Corp., which owns Casino Regina and its counterpar­t in Moose Jaw, will focus on a younger age group for entertainm­ent.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from Canada