G
ross gaming revenue from slots and table games was $67.44 million total for Plainridge Park Casino, MGM Springfield and Encore Boston Harbor in February 2021, a 17% increase over January and the highest monthly gaming revenue total since October, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission reported Monday.
February was the first full month since November the casinos were able to return to 24-hour-a-day operations, as the curfew was lifted Jan. 29.
Encore Boston Harbor reported pulling in $40.99 million in gaming revenue during February, about 60% of the state’s total. This was up from $33.3 million in January 2021 but down from $52.5 million in February 2020. The casino took in about $24 million last month from more than $297 million that gamblers put into its slot machines and another $17 million from its table games.
MGM Springfield generated about $13.86 million in gaming revenue from the $164.3 million wagered on its slots in February and produced about $3 million in revenue from its table game offerings. Overall, the Springfield casino took in about $2.5 million more than the previous month.
Plainridge Park Casino in Plainville was the only gambling facility to see its monthly revenue decline from January to February, albeit only slightly. The slots parlor generated $9.55 million in revenue from the $129.44 million put into its machines, down from $9.79 million in gaming revenue the month before.
The regulator said that about $19.15 million of the gaming revenue generated last month at the three casinos is due to the state as taxes or fees, a roughly 14% increase over the state’s take in January.
Since legalizing gambling in 2011, Massachusetts has collected $719.13 million in revenue from casinos and the slots parlor. Based on the historic monthly average state revenue take, Massachusetts can expect about $247 million in average annual gaming revenue, Milford Daily News reports.
The two casinos and one slots parlor are operating under a Gaming Commission formula that determines maximum capacity based on the number of gaming positions, number of employees and more capped at 40% of their maximum capacity. When March revenues are released in April, they are expected to reveal the impact of the commission’s recent decision to allow the casinos to reintroduce craps and to add a fourth seat at many table games.
