PA Casino Revenue Rebounds In March, But Pennsylvania’s Slot Slide Hits Six Months

A two-percent rise in table game revenue offset a less than one percent decline in slot revenue, giving Pennsylvania casinos their first year-over-year gains of 2017 in March.

• Slot machine revenue for March 2017: $209,984,146.94 (-0.6 percent)
• Table game revenue March 2017: $79,543,775 (+2.09 percent)
• Total gaming revenue March 2017: $289,527,922 (+0.12 percent)

Despite the growth, the big story continues to be the industry’s slot revenue slide, which now stands at six months and counting. On a positive note, the bleeding has all but stopped. The past two months have seen slot revenue more or less flat year-over-year.

• October 2016 slot machine revenue: $191,850,596.41 (-3.04 percent)
• November 2016 slot machine revenue: $179,399,603.94 (-4.34 percent)
• December 2016 slot machine revenue: $185,349,872.22 (-6.17 percent)
• January 2017 slot machine revenue: $180,304,669.91 (-2.44 percent)
• February 2017 slot machine revenue: $192,268,470 (-3.95 percent*)
• March 2017 slot machine revenue: $209,984,146.94 (-0.6 percent)

*Accounting for the leap year in 2016,  the normalized numbers in February have slot revenue down just 0.5 percent YoY.

Revenue numbers come as the state eyes new gambling revenue streams, including online gambling.

Individual winners and losers in Mach

Half of the state’s 12 casinos posted YoY revenue increases in March, but no one was a world-beater. The biggest increase belonged to Hollywood Casino at just under six percent. No other casino saw revenue rise more than 4.5 percent in March.

• Hollywood Casino: +5.79 percent
• SugarHouse Casino: +4.46 percent
• Valley Forge Casino: +4.39 percent
• Lady Luck Casino Nemacolin: +4.16 percent
• Sands Casino: +3.09 percent
• Mount Airy Casino: +1.11 percent

The other six casinos in Pennsylvania saw YoY revenues decline in March, but just as there weren’t any world-beaters, neither were there any laggards. None of the casinos saw revenue dip more than seven percent. Two (Parx and Rivers) had trivial revenue declines of less than one percent:

• Mohegan Sun Pocono: -7.09 percent
• Presque Isle Downs and Casino: -7 percent
• Harrah’s Philadelphia: -4.11 percent
• The Meadows Casino: -1.84 percent
• Parx Casino: -0.56 percent
• Rivers Casino: -0.14 percent

Casino-by-casino analysis

The chart below shows market share by casino for March 2017.

Parx Casino

• Slot revenue: $34,376,206.62 (-0.7 percent)
• Table game revenue:  $15,335,635 (-0.27 percent)
• Total gaming revenue: $49,711,842 (-0.56 percent)

Even with a slight year-over-year decline in revenue, Parx managed to hold on to the No. 1 spot in March, but just barely. Parx and Sands are now separated by just a percentage point in terms of market share.

Sands Bethlehem

• Slot revenue: $27,004,576.11 (-0.87 percent)
• Table game revenue: $21,364,994 (+8.58 percent)
• Total gaming revenue: $48,369,570 (+3.09 percent)

With three percent YoY growth (on the back of an 8.5 percent increase in table game revenue), Sands gained quite a bit of ground on the stagnant Parx. It is once again neck and neck with its chief Pennsylvania rival.

Rivers Casino

• Slot revenue: $24,300,436.66 (+3.21 percent)
• Table game revenue: $5,899,056 (-11.89 percent)
• Total gaming revenue: $30,199,493 (-0.14 percent)

Rivers revenue was more or less flat in March. A solid month of slot revenue was completely offset by a double-digit decline in table game revenue.

The Pittsburgh area casino continues to hold on to the No. 3 spot in the market.

SugarHouse Casino

• Slot revenue: $17,091,502.58 (+3.4 percent)
• Table game revenue: $10,609,737 (+6.2 percent)
• Total gaming revenue: $27,701,240 (+4.46 percent)

SugarHouse channeled its inner AC/DC, as the casino was back in black in March, with revenue growing by nearly 4.5 percent. That was thanks to increases in both slot and table game revenue.

Harrah’s Philadelphia

• Slot revenue: $18,608,908.86 (-2.98 percent)
• Table game revenue: $6,446,538 (-7.23 percent)
• Total gaming revenue: $25,055,446 (-4.11 percent)

Harrah’s numbers were down across the board in March. While it’s trying to hold off a few casinos right behind it, the Caesars-owned casino is still within striking distance of its closest competitor, SugarHouse.

Hollywood Casino at Penn National

• Slot revenue: $19,760,083.88 (+3.37 percent)
• Table game revenue: $3,528,379 (+21.72 percent)
• Total gaming revenue: $23,288,463 (+5.79 percent)

March was really good for Penn National’s Hollywood Casino.

Total revenue was up nearly six percent thanks to a combination of slot and table game revenue increases.

The Meadows Casino

• Slot revenue: $19,234,869.53 (-2.94 percent)
• Table game revenue: $3,291,110 (+5.09 percent)
• Total gaming revenue: $22,525,980 (-1.84 percent)

Meadows gains in table game revenue were more than offset by a near three percent drop in slot revenue.

Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs

• Slot revenue: $17,989,937.13 (-6.94 percent)
• Table game revenue: $3,872,429 (-7.74 percent)
• Total gaming revenue: $21,862,366 (-7.09 percent)

Mohegan Sun had the worst month of any Pennsylvania casino compared to last year’s numbers, but then again, March wasn’t overly bad for any casino.

Mount Airy Casino Resort

• Slot revenue: $12,122,806.69 (-0.49 percent)
• Table game revenue: $4,343,663 (+5.85 percent)
• Total gaming revenue: $16,466,470 (+1.11 percent)

For the second consecutive month, Mount Airy saw its slot revenue fall while its table game revenue rose. However, unlike last month, where the slot revenue led to a decline in total gaming revenue, the gains in table game revenue were enough for Mount Airy to post a YoY revenue increase in March.

Presque Isle Downs and Casino

• Slot revenue: $9,492,864.26 (-6.97 percent)
• Table game revenue: $1,218,794 (-7.23 percent)
• Total gaming revenue: $10,711,658 (-7 percent)

Presque Isle’s struggles continued in March, as the racino continues to see gaming revenue tumble. Presque Isle’s revenue fell off enough that it was nearly passed by Valley Forge, a heavily restricted Category 3 casino.

Valley Forge Casino Resort

• Slot revenue: $7,262,955.15 (+6.27 percent)
• Table game revenue: $3,208,833 (+0.38 percent)
• Total gaming revenue: $10,471,788 (+4.39 percent)

Over the first three months of 2017, Valley Forge posted solid slot revenue numbers:

• January: +7 percent
• February: +7 percent
• March: +6 percent

The solid gains have the casino over the $10 million mark in revenue and nipping at the heels of Presque Isle for the tenth spot in the market.

Lady Luck Casino Nemacolin

• Slot revenue: $2,738,999.47 (+3.21 percent)
• Table game revenue: $424,608 (+10.75 percent)
• Total gaming revenue: $3,163,607 (+4.16 percent)

The state’s smallest casino put together a solid first quarter.

• Five percent growth in January
• Seven percent growth in February
• Four percent growth in March

Historical look at casino revenue in Pennsylvania