On Thursday, May 2, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) posted on its website the monthly revenue report for the total revenue generated from slot machine gaming in the Keystone State for the month of April 2019. From the looks of it, things are not going too well for the slot machine industry.
According to the gaming control board’s report, last month’s gross revenue from slot machines at the state’s 12 licensed casino operators came in at $200,359,403 which is a 2.8 percent revenue decrease when compared to the $206,178,528 that was generated over the same period in 2018. This was despite the fact that the number of slot machines in the state rose from 25,841 in April 2018 to a25,207 in April 2019 Tax revenue, on the other hand, came in at $104,259,552 in April and this shows just how important the vertical is to the state.
| Casino | April 2019 | April 2018 | % Change |
| Parx Casino | $34,964,478.56 | $35,633,140.42 | -1.88% |
| Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem | $25,042,571.69 | $26,118,869.36 | -4.12% |
| Rivers Casino | $24,850,214.80 | $23,998,042.62 | 3.55% |
| Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course | $17,601,928.07 | $18,589,692.35 | -5.31% |
| The Meadows Casino | $17,408,484.91 | $17,747,231.61 | -1.91% |
| Mohegan Sun Pocono | $16,616,349.91 | $17,548,983.38 | -5.31% |
| Harrah’s Philadelphia Casino | $16,087,094.78 | $17,628,809.46 | -8.75% |
| SugarHouse Casino | $15,612,294.53 | $15,657,907.11 | -0.29% |
| Mount Airy Casino Resort | $11,849,751.56 | $12,646,470.36 | -6.30% |
| Presque Isle Downs and Casino | $9,867,950.34 | $10,223,710.10 | -3.48% |
| Valley Forge Casino Resort | $8,249,995.54 | $8,071,088.58 | 2.22% |
| Lady Luck Casino Nemacolin | $2,208,288.21 | $2,314,582.17 | -4.59% |
| Statewide Total | $200,359,402.90 | $206,178,527.52 | -2.82% |
Even though slot machines are just one of the many types of casino-style gaming that are available in the state, they are still the top priority for the state. But why? Well, the casino operators in the state pay an effective 54 percent tax rate on all their slot machine revenue. As such, Pennsylvania is, without a doubt, a true slot machine partner.
This is why the drop of the state’s slot machine gaming revenue figures is such a big deal. In fact, lawmakers in the state have already introduced a bill that seeks to have additional Las Vegas-style casinos to operate traditional slot machines at airports.
The bill is set to allow up to 125 slot machines but this will be dependent on the size of the airport. For instance, the largest airport in Pennsylvania in terms of enplanements is the Philadelphia International Airport and it could easily host 125 slot machines. These large airports that are able to host the maximum number of slots (125) will be required to pay $10,000 for every machine – this will be in the form of a one-time fee. The state’s less busy airports would, of course, still be able to install slot machines but the costs will naturally be lower.
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