The Philadelphia Eagles’ narrow loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl last month led to big gains for the Hollywood Casino at the Meadows.
The North Strabane casino reported a whopping 124% increase in revenue in February compared to the same month in 2022. According to figures released by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB), the casino brought in $26.5 million in total revenue in February, compared to $11.8 million in February 2022. Sports wagering fueled the increase, said Doug Harbach, a spokesman for the PGCB. In February 2022, the Hollywood Casino lost $3.2 million in sports wagering revenue, but made $10.2 million this year.
Other Pennsylvania casinos hit a similar jackpot. Revenue at Valley Forge Casino Resort in King of Prussia had a 96% increase in revenue, taking in $61.3 million in revenue compared to $31.2 million in February 2022. Last month, the Valley Forge Casino made $23.4 million in sports wagering, compared to $1.5 million in February the year before. The Hollywood Casino Morgantown, located in Berks County, saw a 90% increase in revenue in February compared to a year ago, pulling in $6.5 million. In February 2022, the casino made $3.4 million in revenue.
The Meadows also experienced an 8.8% increase in slots revenue over the same period in 2022, but only a 0.2% increase in table games.
In Fayette County, the Lady Luck Casino Nemacolin was not as lucky as its bigger brethren. Its revenue was off by 19.8% in February compared to the year before. It took in $1.6 million compared to $2 million 12 months earlier. When adding up the take from all the state’s casinos and online gaming, revenue for February was $456 million, up 21.6% from February 2022.
When online gaming came to Pennsylvania in 2018, there were concerns that it would divert customers from the casinos. But, according to Harbach, “we have not seen any kind of precipitous decline. The market we have today has been pretty stable over the last year.”
The casino is “Washington County’s leading tourist attraction and a major economic driver,” said Jeff Kotula, president of the Washington County Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Promotion Agency, adding, “we were excited to see that revenues were increased over last year.”
Kotula said the casino’s success can be credited to several factors, such as its rebranding as the Hollywood Casino and investments new owners PENN Entertainment have made. He also said concerns about COVID-19 have been diminishing “and people are getting back to their pre-pandemic lives.”
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