According to released reports, Plainridge Park Casino revenue did not meet analysts’ expectations and as a result, state officials lowered their projections. The downfall made Tim Wilmott, the Penn National Gaming CEO, comment on the matter. He said he was confident that the business was to pick up soon and added that the revenue issue that has befallen Plainridge Park Casino was not unusual.
Mr. Wilmott went on to say that the first two months following the opening of a new venue are really profitable and after that a decline is noticed. However, profits were expected to jump after a few more months. He remained hopeful that this scenario will unfold and Plainridge Park Casino revenue will be stabilized no later than March next year.
One of the greatest disappointments was the fact that Massachusetts players prefer live dealers over the electronic card games available at Plainridge and as a result, they opt for the Rhode Island-based Twin River Casino. Since Plainridge is not licensed as a fully-fledged casino it is not allowed to provide table games.
Plainridge became known as the first legal gambling venue on the territory of Massachusetts. It opened doors for players in June and market analysts’ predictions were that it will turn into a thriving venue generating great profits.
The parlor currently features a total of 1,250 slot machines and back in July the registered revenue was $18.1 million, which fuelled expectations that the revenue will exceed the initially set target of $200 million per year.
However, Plainridge has been reporting a steady decline since August when the revenue amounted to $15.2 million. Matters got worse in September when a revenue of $12.6 million was announced. A slight increase was noticed in October, but mere hours ago, the Gaming Commission provided information about November’s profits that amounted to $11.9 million.
Revenue decline has also affected the amount of taxes paid to the state. Initially, expectations were that Plainridge would contribute $128 million to state coffers, but projections were lowered to $78 million annually. Yet, Wilmott said that there was no need to worry and added that the necessary actions towards remedying the situation have already been taken.
Plainridge officials plan on hosting Dunkin’ Donuts and installing slots featuring high denominations. It is a well-known fact that Dunkin’ Donuts is extremely popular in Massachusetts and now customers seem to be put off by The Bean coffee shop available on site.
Mr. Wilmott also said that Penn National was not going to ask Massachusetts authorities for any law amendments despite the fact that statistics shows casinos, where smoking is allowed generate better profits. Yet, he firmly stated that proposal for lifting the smoking ban or increasing the number of slots was not on the agenda.
