Just a blip? Wind Creek Bethlehem sees slight downturn in gaming revenue
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While the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board reported a year-over-year increase of more than 21% in gaming revenue in February, Wind Creek Bethlehem was one of the few casinos that actually saw a decrease.
Among the casinos, Wind Creek had the fifth-highest revenue at $39.7 million, down from $40.9 million, or 2.9%, from a year ago.
Overall, the state’s 17 casinos, along with video gaming terminals and fantasy contests, netted $456.8 million in revenue, compared with $375.6 million in February 2022. That translated into $188.9 million in tax revenue.
The south Bethlehem casino saw a hit to table games. While Wind Creek remained among the top casinos in table games revenue, it saw a 15% decrease over the year, from $17.5 million to $14.9 million. Only Parx Casino in Bucks County was better at $17 million, an 8% increase.
It could be an aberration as table games are traditionally Wind Creek’s strongest offering. For all of 2022, it led the state’s casinos in table game revenue with $243.7 million, which was a 31.6% increase over the previous year.
In January, Wind Creek had the highest table games revenue in the state at $19.8 million, which was an increase of 5.6% over the year.
Meanwhile, slot machine revenue was up 4.4% to $23.3 million from $22.3 million. Like table games, Wind Creek had the second-highest total in the state for the month, with Parx taking in $30.7 million, a drop of 9.4%.
However, the top grossing casino in the state was not among the top five in either of those traditional bread-and-butter offerings for brick-and-mortar gaming facilities.
Boosted by internet gaming, Hollywood Casino at Penn National, owned by Berks County-based Penn Entertainment, had the most revenue at $72.5 million. The casino in Dauphin County had iGaming revenue of $56.4 million, an increase of 32.4%.
By comparison, Wind Creek’s iGaming revenue was $1.6 million, though it is up more than 37% over the year.
Wind Creek’s sportsbook, meanwhile, took a loss of $89,167. The most profitable sportsbook in the state was Valley Forge Casino in Montgomery County, which saw a profit of $23.4 million.
Looking ahead, Wind Creek is expected to unveil its $160 million expansion in May. It includes three ballrooms for weddings and events, 276 hotel rooms and amenities like an updated lobby and on-site spa.
The biggest of the ballrooms is the 23,000-square-foot Foundry Ballroom, which can accommodate up to 2,000 guests and be divided into nine spaces.
