Casino news source: Boston Herald - http://business.bostonherald.com
Rivals cut into Conn. casino’s cash from slots
By Scott Van Voorhis
Boston Herald Business Reporter
Tuesday, June 26, 2007 - Updated: 01:00 AM EST
Connecticut’s powerhouse Indian casinos, after years of unchecked growth, are facing a new phenomenon - competition.
Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods recently reported their second month of falling slot machine revenues, the bread and butter for most gambling complexes.
Mitchell Etess, Mohegan’s chief executive, said he can’t recall a similar, back-to-back monthly decline.
The drop-off comes after big expansions by the newly revamped Twin River “racino” and its slot machines in Rhode Island and a slots complex in Yonkers, N.Y., acknowledged executives at both Connecticut casinos. Gas prices also hurt.
Meanwhile, the two Connecticut casinos, now among the world’s largest, also face another, potentially even more devastating threat from the Bay State.
The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe is pushing ahead with a proposal for its own gambling resort, modeled after the two Connecticut resort casinos.
“There are 10,000 new slots in the Connecticut market between Yonkers and Twin River,” Mohegan’s Etess said. “I think it’s only logical there will be some shakeout.”
Foxwoods reported a 7.2 percent drop in slot revenue in May, while Mohegan saw a 3.8 percent decline, The Day of New London reported. The two casinos combined generate billions in revenue each year, much of it through slots.
However, executives at both casinos contend their increasingly diverse gambling resorts are well poised for continued, long-term growth.
Both Mohegan and Foxwoods have rolled out new expansions worth hundreds of millions of dollars, adding not only more gaming, but also more amenities, from new hotel rooms to restaurants and clubs.
That will help win over new customers and raise the ante for any new competitor, such as a Mashpee Wampanoag casino, said Gary Border, a top Foxwoods executive.
“Things get more sophisticated; the restaurants get better; the product gets better,” Border said. “When the new guy comes in, it is very difficult to come in at that high of a level.” |
|
World Casino Directory 
Gambling Forums 
