March was a huge month for Pennsylvania casinos. In fact, combined revenue across the state’s 12 gaming properties exceeded $300 million for the first time ever.
The record-breaking figures were released by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board Tuesday. They showed gross table games revenue were down slightly from $79,545,431 in March 2017 to $79,165,791 last month. However, combining the table game revenue numbers with earlier reported March slot machine revenue of $221,350,220 brought total gaming revenue up to $300,516,011. This represented a 3.8 percent increase over the $289,529,578 reported last March.
March has consistently been a big month for PA casinos. In fact, the previous monthly high for total gaming revenue of $296,718,018 was reported in March 2013.
Parx leads PA casinos once again
Parx Casino continued to set the pace. It posted $54,635,233 in total gaming revenue throughout the month to top all 12 Pennsylvania casinos. The Philadelphia-area casino’s numbers represented a 9.9 percent increase over the same month last year.
Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem held on to the number-two spot. This despite its total gaming revenue dipping 3.31 percent from $48,369,570 in March 2017 to $46,770,619 last month.
Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh saw the biggest monthly gains. It’s total gaming revenue jumped from $30,199,493 in March 2017 to $33,546,172 last month. The 11.08 percent increase helped Rivers Casino rise up to third place among PA’s 12 casinos in terms of total gaming revenue.
Valley Forge on the rise
The Philadelphia area’s Valley Forge Casino Resort continues to post gains. This after paying the state’s $1 million fee to drop requirements that limited casino customers to hotel guests, membership holders and patrons of other resort amenities in November of last year.
The casino resort saw total gaming revenues jump 10.54 percent from $10,471,788 in March 2017 to $11,575,606 last month.
The gaming control board also approved the sale of Valley Forge Casino Resort to Las Vegas-based Boyd Gaming Corporation earlier this month. Boyd first announced plans to buy the property for $280.5 million last year.
Mount Airy Casino Resort in the Poconos Mountains region saw the biggest drop in terms of total gaming revenue compared to March last year. It’s total gaming revenue dropped 5.88 percent from $16,466,470 in March 2017 to $15,497,865 last month.
More than $128 million in taxes collected
The state continued to be the largest single beneficiary of gaming revenue increases. In fact, total tax revenue collected from table games and slots reached $128,261,552 in March 2018. This number includes $115,518,487 from an average of 25,815 slot machines. Plus, $12,743,065 from an average of 1,268 table games in operation statewide on a daily basis throughout the month.
According to PGCB, the majority of the tax revenue collected is used for property tax reduction for Pennsylvania homeowners.
All monthly PA casino revenue figures are posted on the board’s web site.