Gaming revenues showing signs of major comback
BOSTON – Even with some COVID-19 restrictions in place for most of the month, the Bay State’s slots parlor and two casinos generated more tax revenue for the state’s coffers in May than in any month since casino gambling was legalized nearly a decade ago.
The state’s share of the roughly $86.68 million that Plainridge Park Casino, MGM Springfield and Encore Boston Harbor generated in May works out to about $24.67 million, the Gaming Commission reported Monday.
That topped the previous monthly record of $24.33 million set in February 2020, the last month without any COVID-19 restrictions. Massachusetts casinos operated under capacity restrictions and COVID-19 protocols from mid-July until May 29, when they were allowed to return to normal pre-pandemic operations.
Despite the restrictions, the three gambling centers posted relatively strong revenues this spring and the state has raked in above-average collections each of the last three months.
May was very similar to April for the Plainville slots parlor and Springfield casino. Compared to April, both Plainridge and MGM saw tiny dips in slot revenue despite similarly small upticks in betting as their payout percentages increased last month.
The slots parlor counted just more than $12.49 million in revenue last month, its third-best month since Encore Boston Harbor opened. MGM Springfield, which also saw a small decrease in its table game revenue from April to May, took in $21.25 million in gaming revenue in May.
Encore Boston Harbor in Everett saw increases across the board from April to May — more money was put into its slots, those slots held back a larger percentage of wagers, slot machine revenue was up and table game revenue increased.
All told, the casino generated $52.93 million in gaming revenue last month. Since legalizing gambling in 2011, Massachusetts has collected more than $791.88 million in gaming revenues — about $426.5 million from Plainridge Park, about $147.18 million from MGM and about $218.19 million from Encore Boston Harbor. Based on historic monthly averages, Massachusetts can expect about $254.46 million in average annual gaming revenue.
