Massachusetts casino revenues continue to be impacted by coronavirus precautions

According to recent reports, the three large gambling-friendly facilities located in the state of Massachusetts, located in the eastern United States, had a depressing month of January as their combined gross gaming revenues dropped by approximately 28.2% year-on-year to a total of slightly more than $57.6 million.

According to a report that was published on Tuesday by The Herald News newspaper, which cited official figures from the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, the business at the MGM Springfield, Encore Boston Harbor, and slots-only Plainridge Park Casino was hurt by a coronavirus-related social distancing requirement that continues to prohibit them from operating at more than 40% of their maximum capacity. This requirement was put in place to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Public purse:

The newspaper reported that despite this, the three properties were still able to generate approximately $16.7 million in taxes during the month of January. This figure was lower than the approximately $21.7 million that were accumulated during the same 31-day period in 2020, but it was 15.6% higher than the approximately $14.6 million that were recorded during the month of December.

The decisive dominance of:

According to the Herald News, the 671-room Encore Boston Harbor property from Wynn Resorts Limited brought in nearly two-thirds of the state's aggregated gross gaming revenues for January at about $33.3 million. Despite the fact that this represented a year-on-year decline of approximately 31%, the amount represented a record high for the month. The newspaper detailed that the situation was not much better at MGM Resorts International's four-star MGM Springfield as monthly takings dropped by 29.6% to approximately $14.4 million, which led to a tax bill in the region of $3.6 million. The newspaper also stated that the situation was not much better at MGM Resorts International's MGM Las Vegas.

Slot slump:

According to reports, the Plainridge Park Casino, which has 1,200 slot machines and is the oldest of the three Massachusetts venues, saw its gross gaming revenues for January drop by just over 11.6% year-on-year to approximately $9.7 million. This resulted in the enterprise being run by Penn National Gaming Incorporated being responsible for a tax obligation of almost $4.8 million.

Persistent precautions:

On March 17, only a few days before "The Bay State" documented its first official fatality due to coronavirus, the two casinos in Massachusetts as well as their slot parlor equivalent were temporarily closed, according to the newspaper. Although the facilities were allowed to reopen some four months later, they are still purported to be operating under a stringent set of social distancing and public health protocols, which furthermore require all staff members and guests to wear face masks. Although the facilities were allowed to reopen, they are still purported to be operating under these strict guidelines.