MGM’s Massachusetts casino revenue falls for second month

MGM’s Massachusetts casino revenue falls for second month

MGM Resorts’ new Massachusetts casino reported its second straight month of gaming revenue declines, while its Connecticut DewaPoker competitors were also in the red.

Figures released Monday by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission show the state’s two licensed brick-and-mortar casino operators generated gaming revenue of $34.1m in November, down from $35.5m in October.

MGM Springfield, the $960m venue that opened its doors to the public in late August, reported gaming revenue of $21.25m in November, down from $22.2m in October and $27m in September. Penn National Gaming’s slots-only Plainridge Park Casino generated $12.85m, down from October’s $13.5m.

MGM Springfield had earned $9.5m in its first eight days of operation, which suggested that the property was on track to realize its forecast of $418m in gaming revenue over its first 12 months of operation. But MGM Springfield has so far earned just $80m in its first three-plus months and, as they say on Game of Thrones, winter is coming.

Across Massachusetts’ southern border, Connecticut’s two tribal casino operators were also reporting a negative November, their fifth consecutive month of year-on-year slot machine revenue declines.

The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation’s Foxwoods Resort Casino reported its November slot revenue hitting $35.3m, down 8% from the same month last year. Slots handle was down 4% to $454.8m. The property hasn’t posted a year-on-year slots revenue improvement since May.

Mohegan Gaming & Entertainment’s Mohegan Sun venue reported its November slots revenue falling to $44m from $47.5m in November 2017, while slots handle fell 5.6% to $555.2m.

The Connecticut tribal operators have been largely philosophical about the declines, saying they expected to take a hit once their big shiny competitor opened across the state line. However, Mohegan Sun’s president Ray Pineault told local media that “the declines are less than we anticipated” and thus “we’re not at all disappointed.”