Massachusetts casino revenue declines in November

While MGM Springfield saw gaming revenue rise, Encore Boston Harbor and Plainridge Park Casino reported lower numbers.

US.- The Massachusetts Gaming Commission has reported that Plainridge Park Casino, MGM Springfield and Encore Boston Harbor generated $88m in gross gaming revenue (GGR) in November, down $8m from the $96m reached in a record-breaking October. 

MGM Springfield generated $21.7m and was the only one of the state’s three casinos to report an increase (October GGR saw $21.4m). MGM’s revenue in November included about $5.7m from table games and nearly $16m from slot machines. 

Encore reported $55.2m in gross gaming revenue, down from $62.8m in October. It saw approximately $25.1m from table games and $30.1m from slots. Plainridge also slipped slightly, reporting $10.9m in November compared to $11.7m in October. It offers slots only.

The three casinos combined saw a casino handle of $703.28m in November, a 6.2 per cent decline from October’s handle of just over $750m. Although the numbers don’t look good in comparison with October, November’s combined handle represented a 72 per cent increase over the $409.3m recorded in November 2020. The numbers from last month were also ahead of November 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic, which saw revenue of $78.2m and a handle of $611.4m.

The three casinos paid $24.6m in taxes to the state based on the revenues in November. Plainridge, a category 2 slots facility, is taxed on 49 per cent of GGR. Of that total, 82 per cent is paid to Local Aid and 18 per cent to the Race Horse Development Fund. MGM Springfield and Encore Boston Harbor, category 1 resort-casinos, are taxed at 25 per cent of GGR, allocated to several specific state funds as determined by the gaming statute.

The Commonwealth has collected approximately $945m in taxes and assessments from the three venues since their respective openings.

See also: Massachusetts’ three casinos see record revenue in October