Report: Pa. casinos see revenue increase in January
Feb. 18—Pennsylvania casinos started the year off strong as facilities work to recoup revenues lost to the coronavirus pandemic.
In January, casinos statewide generated $311 million in gambling revenues, according to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. That was nearly 3% more than the $302.8 million in revenues generated in January 2020.
That increase was largely bolstered by the opening of two casinos — Live! Casino Pittsburgh, which opened at the Westmoreland Mall in November, and Live! Casino and Hotel Philadelphia, which opened Feb. 11 — as well as by growing popularity for sports wagering, online gambling (iGaming) and video gaming terminals.
Online gambling saw some of the largest increases last month compared to January 2020, with iGaming slot machine revenues growing by $43.8 million and iGaming table game revenues increasing by $22 million. iGaming poker also grew by $568,000, video gaming terminals by $1.1 million and fantasy contests by $843,000.
In addition, sports wagering revenues grew by $11 million, data show, only adding to the industry's success since it was legalized in November 2018. That number was slightly bolstered last month by Hollywood Casino Morgantown, under construction in Berks County, which generated $414,000 through an online sportsbook.
The industry has grown continuously since its inception and, last month, sports betting saw its largest handle to date, recording $615 million in wagers. According to PlayPennsylania, those wagers put the state on the path to bringing in almost $6 billion in wagers this year. That's compared to the $4.5 billion wagered from 2018 to January.
Despite that success, revenues for retail in-person slot machines and table games continued to decrease last month. According to the report, slot machine revenues decreased by $49.5 million compared to last January, while table games decreased by $21.7 million.
Those decreases seemingly carried over to local casinos, the majority of which saw revenue declines last month.
Rivers Casino, located on Pittsburgh's North Shore, saw a 37% decrease, down from $34.5 million in January 2020 to $21.6 million in revenues generated last month. That was felt through retail slot machines, which decreased by $10 million and retail table games, which dropped by $2.3 million.
Revenues generated from sports betting also slightly declined at the facility last month by about $400,000.
The Meadows Racetrack and Casino in Washington County saw revenues decreased by about 6%, generating about $19.7 million last month compared to $20.9 million in January 2020, according to the Gaming Control Board.
Like Rivers, The Meadows saw a $5.7 million drop in retail slot machine revenues and a $316,000 decrease in retail table game revenues. The facility, however, did see $4.8 million in increased revenues through sports wagering.
Lady Luck Casino Nemacolin in Fayette County saw revenues drop by about 53%, falling from $2.6 million last January to $1.2 last month. Slot machine revenues dropped by $1.2 million and table game revenues decreased by $171,000. The facility does not have a sportsbook.
Figures from the Gaming Control Board show Live! Casino in Hempfield generated more than $6 million last month. Of that, $5 million came from slot machines, $874,000 from table games and $95,000 from sports wagering.
Casinos across the state are working to recover after they were forced to shutter last spring and again during most of December to help curb the spread of covid-19. Collectively, casinos across the state saw revenues drop by $759 million last year compared to 2019, when they generated more than $3 billion in gambling revenue. Facilities reopened Jan. 4. Retail figures reflect that three-day closure last month.
Megan Tomasic is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Megan at 724-850-1203, mtomasic@triblive.com or via Twitter .
