In Connecticut, the federally-recognized Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation has reportedly announced that June slot machine revenues from its Foxwoods Resort Casino property increased by 8% year-on-year to reach $36.3 million.
According to a report from The Bulletin newspaper, the p from the Ledyard-based tribe represents the second time in 2017 that its New London County casino has posted a year-on-year gain in monthly slot revenues after March’s p rose by 3.2% to hit $38.7 million although the June result was little over 4.7% down when compared with May’s tally of $38.1 million.
The newspaper reported that March was also the last time that Foxwoods Resort Casino and its nearby rival, the Mohegan Sun, both posted year-on-year improvements in slot revenues with the latter revealing yesterday that machine takings for June had swelled by 8% year-on-year to just over $49.2 million although this was lower than May’s p of $50.6 million.
Fred Carstensen, a finance professor at the University of Connecticut and Director for the Connecticut Center for Economic Analysis, told The Bulletin that the casinos’ recent results say more about the strength of neighboring states’ economies than the financial situation in Connecticut.
“Historically, the casinos drew as much as 75% of their customers from out of state,” Carstensen told the newspaper. “Massachusetts and New York and even Rhode Island are doing much better than Connecticut so folks from those states may be more willing to come over to Connecticut to gamble. There is little to suggest that Connecticut’s economy is doing anything more than creeping along.”
The Bulletin reported that Foxwoods Resort Casino’s overall handle for June improved b 7BALL y 9.2% year-on-year to $482.7 million while the p for the Mohegan Sun, which is operated by the Mohegan Gaming and Entertainment vehicle of the federally-recognized Mohegan Tribe, rose by 7.5% to $605.4 million.
In terms of annual results, Foxwoods Resort Casino reportedly saw overall slot revenues drop off by 1.8% year-on-year to $453.9 million while its handle for the twelve-month period increased by just over 2% to $5.85 billion.
According to a report from the Reuters news service, June saw Foxwoods Resort Casino hand over $9.9 million to Connecticut’s special revenue fund as per its 25% revenue-sharing agreement with the state. This was an 11% improvement on last year’s p and means that the facility has contributed $119.3 million to Hartford since July 1, 2016.
Reuters reported that June’s revenue-sharing payment moreover means that the state has received more than $4 billion from Foxwoods Resort Casino since 1992, in which time the facility has welcomed some 340 million guests and reinvested approximately $100 million into the economy of Connecticut.
“We take pride not only in providing an unmatched experience at our resort for every one of our guests but also in our roots, which include being a member of the Connecticut community,” read a statement from Felix Rappaport, who became Chief Executive Officer for Foxwoods Resort Casino in November of 2014. “We are honored to have an opportunity to invigorate our economy as a direct result of our work in making Foxwoods [Resort Casino] the premier resort casino in the northeast and attracting people to the wonderful state of Connecticut.”
