Plainville casino revenues bounce back for December
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PLAINVILLE — Plainridge Park Casino had its best December in two years, according to the state Gaming Commission.
Plainridge had revenues of just over $11 million in gross gaming revenue for last month, a slight increase over November’s figure of nearly $10.9 million and a healthy showing compared to last December’s $9.1 million, according to figures released late Tuesday.
Gross gaming revenue is the difference between what gamblers bet on the slot machines and video table games offered at the Route 1 casino and raceway and what they take home. It’s the equivalent of profit in other industries.
Since being closed down by the state as non-essential businesses during the height of the coronavirus outbreak in March of 2020, and then reopening under limits on hours and attendance, all three of the state’s gaming venues have struggled to return to pre-pandemic revenue levels.
At Plainridge, since hitting a high of nearly $13 million in July of last year, month-to-month revenues have been slipping slightly. December’s figures marked the first increase since the July report and the best December since 2019 when revenues were $10.2 million.
Penn National, the Pennsylvania-based company that runs Plainridge, does not comment on the state’s monthly revenue reports.
Statewide, the three casinos generated approximately $96 million in revenue in December, a significant rebound from the month before. Combined, MGM Springfield, Encore Boston Harbor and Plainridge reported $88 million in revenue in November compared to $96 million in October. Plainridge is the only one of the three that does not offer live table games such as poker and blackjack, although it does have electronic versions.
Plainridge, as a Category 2 slots facility, is taxed on 49% of gross gaming revenue. Of that total taxed amount, 82% is paid to local aid and 18% is allotted to the Race Horse Development Fund. MGM Springfield and Encore Boston Harbor, Category 1 resort-casinos, are taxed 25% of GGR; those monies are allocated to several state funds as determined by the gaming statute.
To date, the commonwealth has collected approximately $971 million in total taxes and assessments from Plainridge, MGM and Encore since the respective openings of each facility, the gaming commission says.
