Wind Creek Bethlehem saw a boost in revenue in March, but numbers are still lower than before the pandemic

Despite the construction dust at Wind Creek Bethlehem, figures released Monday by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board showed that customers are still putting their money down at the southside Bethlehem casino.

For March, the state reported that Wind Creek’s total revenue was $47.3 million, an increase of 33.6% from the $35.3 million recorded the same month last year.

When compared to the state’s 15 other casinos, Wind Creek was fifth-best overall. The Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course near Harrisburg, owned by Berks County-based Penn National Gaming, was first overall at $63.7 million. The next three were Philadelphia-area casinos: Parx Casino at $60.4 million, Rivers Casino Philadelphia at $54.5 million and Valley Forge Casino Resort at $51.8 million.

Overall, the Gaming Control Board said total revenue from the state’s casinos was a record $462.7 million, which includes all forms of gambling along with fantasy games. The previous high was $432.4 million in November 2021.

For the first time, table games exceeded $90 million and internet gaming exceeded $110 million.

Tax revenue for the month was $187 million.

Despite the ongoing construction of Wind Creek’s new hotel, which is scheduled to be completed later this year, the casino’s totals are up by more than $9 million since January, when the bottom line took a slight dip to $38 million. However, current numbers are still lower than pre-COVID pandemic totals, which were at $51 million for March 2019.

Boosting March 2022 figures were table games, which were at a state-best $21.7 million, a 103% increase from the $10.6 million in March 2021.

Slots revenue was up slightly to $23.7 million, an increase from $23.4 million. That was third-best in the state, with Parx coming in first at $36 million.

Internet games also saw a small bump to $1.5 million, from $1.4 million, and sports wagering was at $307,133, an improvement from a loss of $126,494 last year.

Both those categories are starting to show improvement when compared to last November when iGaming was at $815,000 and sports wagering was at $228,000. While Wind Creek’s digital offerings were still near the bottom in the state, the sportsbook was 11th out of 18 outlets.

Formerly known as Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem, Wind Creek acquired the casino in 2019 from Las Vegas Sands Corp. for $1.3 billion. An affiliate of Alabama’s Poarch Band of Creek Indians, Wind Creek is expanding the casino with a new hotel planned to open later this year.