Kansas casinos' revenue still down in September, shows slight monthly improvement
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ollywood Casino at Kansas Speedway saw revenues decline in September compared to the same month of the previous year, according to a report to the Kansas Lottery Commission meeting last Wednesday.
The casino has had fewer machines and games open since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. There were spacing changes brought about by the need for social distancing, and the number of slot machines were reduced, according to the state lottery.
Keith Kocher, director of program assurance and integrity for the Kansas Lottery, said the state’s four casinos are continuing to try to claw back from total closure last spring, Wyandotte Daily reports. Hollywood Casino reported gaming revenues at $9.28 million for the month of September 2020, Kocher said. The decrease in revenues was of approximately 20 percent year-over-year, according to a written report by the casino’s general manager, Rick Skinner, to the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission.
Skinner reported that September 2020 admissions were down about 39 percent compared to the same month of 2019. Kocher said the picture is improving a little, in general. Last month the four state casinos were collectively down about 18 percent, and they have now reduced that to about 15 percent, he said.
The state of Kansas receives 22 percent of the gaming revenues, while the Unified Government receives 3 percent. The difference between last year’s 3 percent to the local government and this year’s is about $76,700.
Safety measures continue at the state’s casinos, with spacing in effect, and also, everyone continues to wear masks, according to Kocher.
Skinner’s report stated that there were several promotions planned for the Hollywood Casino. On Oct. 16, there is a Hollywood Casino 400 giveaway planned. Promotions planned in November include a “Gobble up the Cash” event on Nov. 7; a $35,000 VIP shopping spree on Nov. 21; a pie giveaway on Nov. 25; and a treasure chest promotion on Nov. 27.
Stephen Durrell, executive director of the Kansas Lottery, said he wanted to commend the casinos for their continued efforts to keep the patrons and staff as safe as possible. He said the casinos have been proactive, and anyone who has been exposed to COVID-19 is staying home. Even those whose family members have possibly been exposed are staying home, he said.
Although the Kansas Lottery will not have a ticket booth at the Kansas Speedway races this year, the lottery is continuing as the sponsor of the Saturday XFinity race at the Speedway, he said. There will be no fans at the race on Saturday, and the Speedway is having limited fan attendance on Sunday at the NASCAR Cup Series race.
Durrell also reported that instant ticket games seem to be doing very well right now, while games such as Powerball and Mega Millions are still down. He said he expected to see changes coming for the Powerball and Lucky for Life games. Lucky for Life will be going to seven days a week, he said. There seems to be a trend where players do not want to wait days to see if they won, according to Durrell.
