Casino news source: Post Gazette - http://www.post-gazette.com
Meadows slots ring up $5 million in 1st week
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
By Gary Rotstein, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Weekend patrons who sometimes filled The Meadows Racetrack & Casino to 90 percent of capacity helped the new slots parlor generate slightly less than $5 million in revenue its first week, making its debut a success in the views of both casino and state officials.
The slot machine facility in North Strabane generated about $2 million more from June 11 through Sunday than Presque Isle Downs & Casino in Erie County did last week. The Presque Isle casino opened Feb. 28 with 2,000 machines, compared with the 1,738 at The Meadows.
The slots at The Meadows brought in less revenue than two Philadelphia-area racetrack casinos with more machines. Harrah's Chester Casino & Racetrack, with 2,735 machines, earned $5.8 million, and Philadelphia Park Casino and Racetrack brought in $5.5 million from 2,231 slots.
The revenue represents the amount shared between the government and the operator after prizes have been paid out to players.
In all, during its first week, customers gambled $63.6 million at The Meadows and received back 92 percent of it, or $58.7 million.
"We're an early success," said the new casino's general manager, Mike Graninger, even before examining the revenue figures. He based that on parking lots that were 90 percent full at peak hours Friday and Saturday nights, with 95 percent of machines in use at times. He estimated that at least 16,000 people visited in the 24-hour period from early Saturday to early Sunday.
The Meadows benefited from both the newness of the facility and from being the first slots operation in southwestern Pennsylvania.
Its closest competitor, Wheeling Island Racetrack & Gaming Center in West Virginia, suffered a drop-off in volume last week, but no figures were available for public release on how much, said Wheeling Island spokeswoman Kim Florence. Wheeling Island has anticipated a 30 percent to 40 percent drop in its slots use as a result of Pennsylvania's expansion, Ms. Florence said, which prompted the casino's plans to add table games later this year.
Some Pittsburgh-area players who have patronized Presque Isle Downs may have been tempted to try The Meadows instead last week, although the Erie County facility's revenue dropped only about 6 percent. Its casino revenue was reported at $2,914,947 last week, compared with $3,116,383 the week before.
The Meadows' first-week revenue was $4,951,507, with the operator retaining 45 percent of that to cover costs and profit and 55 percent turned over to the state for designated purposes. The casino's officials have predicted the slots there will eventually generate more than $200 million in annual revenue, while the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board has estimated the amount will be closer to $100 million.
State officials will be pleased if they were wrong and the casino's forecasts were correct.
"Nobody's going to be unhappy if more revenues are produced. That's a win," said gaming board spokesman Doug Harbach. "Having said that, it's still early, and the estimates were based on a future year with their permanent casino and with other competition. ... Once those factors are put into play, you'll have numbers more indicative of what this business can do."
The Meadows hopes to open a permanent casino with 3,000 machines in early 2009. By then, a still larger casino, the Majestic Star, is supposed to be open 25 miles away on Pittsburgh's North Shore.
While pleased with their debut, officials at The Meadows are considering potential changes, Mr. Graninger said, based on comments received from customers. He said the number of handicapped parking spaces could be quadrupled from the 14 it has now to acknowledge the walking difficulties of some patrons. Also, the size of lunch portions and the meal's $13.95 cost may be reduced in Silks, its all-you-can-eat restaurant. The restaurant, where dinners cost $15.95, has served about 1,000 meals daily.
One beneficiary of the attention on the casino was the harness racing activity at The Meadows, where a decline in business was a prime factor cited in legalizing slots. Attendance at the track Saturday evening spiked above 1,000, compared with a typical crowd for that night of about 650, said John Marshall, manager of racing operations. He said live horse wagering increased about 30 percent.
"A lot of people, from my observation, came to watch the races out of curiosity who had never been here before," he said. "Hopefully, [the casino] will help us to generate new enthusiasm and interest among people."
A portion of slots revenue is to be used to create bigger race purses at the track, for the purpose of helping horse owners, trainers, jockeys and others dependent on racing for their livelihoods.
That money will start funneling to The Meadows at the end of this month, Mr. Marshall said, but in anticipation of getting it, the track already raised the average total purse from about $42,000 a day to $55,000 a day in February.
By late October, he said, the daily purses will exceed $100,000, but that's only after a two-month shutdown of live racing begins Aug. 12 for demolition of the existing grandstand structure. The track's signature racing event, The Adios, takes place Aug. 11. |
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