Gaming Revenues Bounce Back In Springfield and Plainville
After a down month in November, gaming revenues at the state's two casinos rebounded in December, delivering nearly $12.3 million to the state in taxes.
Players wagered $194.26 million on MGM Springfield's slot machines last month and while 92.66 percent of it was returned to players as winnings, MGM Springfield reported $14.26 million in gross slot revenue in December. The casino also counted $7.33 million in gross revenue from its table games for total monthly revenue of about $21.58 million, according to revenue figures released Tuesday by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission.
While gamblers wagered about 15 percent more on MGM Springfield's slots in December than in November, the casino reported its total gaming revenue -- which includes table game revenue -- increased just 1.55 percent from November to December. Full-scale casinos in Massachusetts are taxed at a rate of 25 percent of their gross gaming revenue and the monthly state tax haul from MGM in December was $5.4 million, the Gaming Commission said.
At Plainridge Park Casino in Plainville, officials reported slots revenue of $14.09 million last month from $178.71 million in wagers, the commission said. The state is entitled to more than $5.63 million of Plainridge's December revenue in the form of taxes intended for local aid and another $1.27 million for the Race Horse Development Fund. That works out to a total tax or assessment hit of about $6.9 million last month, according to the Gaming Commission.
Plainridge is taxed on 49 percent of its gross gaming revenue, with 82 percent of the levy going to local aid and 18 percent to a fund set up with the goal of supporting horse racing, an industry that is struggling in Massachusetts.