On Monday, February 4, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board posted on its website the January monthly report for the total revenue accrued from slot machines at the state’s licensed casino operators. Fortunately, the slot machines have continued to show year over year growth and the last month was no exception as we got to see a 1.15 percent revenue bump in revenue.
According to the gaming control board’s report, the Keystone State’s 12 licensed casino operators cumulatively brought in more than $179 million in January 2019 which is a small but significant bump from the $177 million that was recorded over the same period last year. Of the 12 casino operators, 5 saw some pretty huge improvement in the revenue figures which, in turn, generated just enough profit to carry the entire stack into the black.
The casino that recorded the most improvement was Rivers Casino which has been posting increases in revenue for a while now – it was also the most improved casino in terms of revenues in December 2018. The casino brought in an additional $2.3 million year over year which amounted to an increase of 10.9 percent. Also making headlines in the gaming control board’s report was Valley Forge casino which posted the best percentage increase in January 2019 by – it posted a whopping 18.4 percent increase year over year for its second consecutive month.
On the flip side, Mohegan Sun Pocono and Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem have had some rather tough times in the last couple of months – both companies saw declines of up to $1 million despite posting very impressive figures over the holiday. The worst hit operator, in this case, was Lady Luck Casino Nemacolin which lost a whopping 20 percent in year over year revenue.
Even though the revenue report showed improvements, general gaming revenues have not been very consistent and it is speculated that the record-breaking low temperatures in January may have something to do with it. However, it is perhaps too early to tell if this is true or not.
The State’s First Crack at the Super Bowl
Pennsylvania is one of the first states to launch its sports betting industry following the May 2018 Supreme Court ruling that struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) and last Sunday’s Super Bowl marked the very first time that the residents of the state could place wagers on such a huge sporting event. The big game was indeed a true test for whether the state was finally ready to dive deeper into the sports betting ecosystem which, in many ways, is expected to be a huge revenue boost for the state going forward.
