Foxwoods, Mohegan Sun both see slots revenues down 12 percent in April

Steepest declines since MGM Springfield opened

Foxwoods Resort Casino and Mohegan Sun reported Wednesday that their slot-machine winnings were down 12 percent last month compared to a year ago, the largest year-over-year decline they’ve experienced in any month since MGM Springfield opened in August.

Foxwoods “won,” or kept, $36.2 million in slots revenue after paying prizes, down from $41.2 million in April 2018. Mohegan Sun kept $45.2 million, down from $51.4 million.

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission reported that MGM Springfield kept $15.5 million in slots revenue last month, 16.7 percent less than the $18.6 million it kept in March. The Connecticut casinos’ slots revenue in April declined over March, though not by as great a percentage as MGM Springfield’s did. Year-overyear comparisons of MGM Springfield’s monthly revenue won’t be possible until September.

Ray Pineault, Mohegan Sun’s president and general manager, said his casino’s sharp drop-off in slots revenue could be attributed to three things. First, April this year had four Sundays compared to April 2018’s five. Casinos generate most of their revenues on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

Second, Pineault noted, Mohegan’s slots “hold” — the percentage of wagers it keeps — was 7.99 percent this April compared to 8.21 percent the previous April. Hold percentages randomly fluctuate a bit from month to month. Mohegan Sun’s slots “handle” — wagers before prizes are paid — fell from $625.8 million in April 2018 to $565.7 million last month, a year-over-year decline of 9.6 percent.

Mohegan Sun operated almost 500 fewer slots this April than it did in April 2018, a third factor cited by Pineault.

“Overall, we continue to be pleased by our volumes,” he said.

In a statement, Michael Mathis, MGM Springfield’s president and chief operating officer, said he continues to be pleased with his casino’s performance. While April was MGM Springfield’s third-best month in terms of slots revenue, it was its poorest month in terms of table-games revenue, which totaled $6.3 million. The Connecticut casinos do not report their table-games revenues on a monthly basis.

“Our footprint in the New England and Northeast gaming market grew stronger in April as we solidified our corporate sponsorship with the Boston Red Sox, increased our bus service from Boston and New York City, and welcomed thousands of more customers into our loyalty rewards program ...,” Mathis said.

Foxwoods paid $9 million of its April slots win to the state. Mohegan Sun paid $11.3 million.