The state sent out a lovely little press release earlier this week heralding how things are going great guns in the gambling business.
Money continues to flow into the state’s new slots casinos at a record clip. The “take” in May was up 18 percent, bolstered in part by the arrival of the latest palatial gaming parlor, the Sands Casino on the site of the old Bethlehem Steel plan in the Lehigh Valley.
The state’s eight casinos generated $178 million in revenue in May. Not a bad month.
But there’s another story here, one that is not exactly highlighted in the state’s release.
Something strange is going on at Harrah’s down in Chester. Revenue is down. And it has been for about a year. For the most part, revenue has been off 2 or 3 percent a month. A trickle, especially when you consider the fact that Harrah’s Chester Casino & Racetrack still takes in about $30 million a month.
But in May things took a turn for the worse. A serious turn for the worse. Revenue was off 6 percent.
Don’t lose sleep for Harrah’s. They aren’t going broke. They still took in $29,355,459 in May, but that was down from $31,283,315 in May of last year.
And that’s not all. They also surrendered their normal No. 2 spot in terms of overall casino revenue. They usually trail only Philly Park, but in May they also slipped behind The Meadows Racetrack and Casino.
And one final ominous sign for the state’s foray into gambling, one that should be noticed since it appears that table games are merely a matter of when they get the green light, not if.
Up until now, every state casino with the exception of Harrah’s has posted increased revenue each month since they opened. Harrah’s was the first to hit negative numbers. They are no longer alone.
Two other casinos also were off in May. Presque Isle was down 4.5 percent. Mount Airy was off a whopping 9.7 percent. I guess some of that can be written off by the arrival of the mighty Sands in Bethlehem.
But I still don’t have an explanation for Harrah’s and why they’re struggling. I’d love to have someone at Harrah’s address the issue, but they simply do not want to talk about it. I guess I can’t blame them.
Is it just the general downturn in the economy? Is it more competition around the state? Are Atlantic City and Delaware casinos luring customers back? What is going to happen if and when those two casinos planned for downtown Philly ever get off the ground?
No one is talking.
We’ve been invited to Harrah’s next week to talk to the new chairman of the state Gaming Control Board. Greg Fajt is on a tour of the casinos. I plan to have someone ask him about why Harrah’s is down. Don’t know if he’ll answer, but someone should start talking about it.
Money continues to flow into the state’s new slots casinos at a record clip. The “take” in May was up 18 percent, bolstered in part by the arrival of the latest palatial gaming parlor, the Sands Casino on the site of the old Bethlehem Steel plan in the Lehigh Valley.
The state’s eight casinos generated $178 million in revenue in May. Not a bad month.
But there’s another story here, one that is not exactly highlighted in the state’s release.
Something strange is going on at Harrah’s down in Chester. Revenue is down. And it has been for about a year. For the most part, revenue has been off 2 or 3 percent a month. A trickle, especially when you consider the fact that Harrah’s Chester Casino & Racetrack still takes in about $30 million a month.
But in May things took a turn for the worse. A serious turn for the worse. Revenue was off 6 percent.
Don’t lose sleep for Harrah’s. They aren’t going broke. They still took in $29,355,459 in May, but that was down from $31,283,315 in May of last year.
And that’s not all. They also surrendered their normal No. 2 spot in terms of overall casino revenue. They usually trail only Philly Park, but in May they also slipped behind The Meadows Racetrack and Casino.
And one final ominous sign for the state’s foray into gambling, one that should be noticed since it appears that table games are merely a matter of when they get the green light, not if.
Up until now, every state casino with the exception of Harrah’s has posted increased revenue each month since they opened. Harrah’s was the first to hit negative numbers. They are no longer alone.
Two other casinos also were off in May. Presque Isle was down 4.5 percent. Mount Airy was off a whopping 9.7 percent. I guess some of that can be written off by the arrival of the mighty Sands in Bethlehem.
But I still don’t have an explanation for Harrah’s and why they’re struggling. I’d love to have someone at Harrah’s address the issue, but they simply do not want to talk about it. I guess I can’t blame them.
Is it just the general downturn in the economy? Is it more competition around the state? Are Atlantic City and Delaware casinos luring customers back? What is going to happen if and when those two casinos planned for downtown Philly ever get off the ground?
No one is talking.
We’ve been invited to Harrah’s next week to talk to the new chairman of the state Gaming Control Board. Greg Fajt is on a tour of the casinos. I plan to have someone ask him about why Harrah’s is down. Don’t know if he’ll answer, but someone should start talking about it.
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