In Massachusetts and the recently-opened Encore Boston Harbor?reportedly chalked up gross gaming revenues of slightly over $16.7 million during its first week in business to contribute almost $4.2 million to the eastern state’s coffers.
Overtaking the competition:
According to a report from CalvinAyre.com citing official figures from the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, the $2.6 billion venue from Wynn Resorts Limited opened on June 23 with its first-week figure well surpassing the $9.5 million recorded by the rival MGM Springfield for that facility’s own initial seven days in late-August.
To make matters worse for the Springfield property from MGM Resorts International, CalvinAyre.com reported that it had detailed slightly in excess of $19.9 million in gross gaming revenues for the entirety of June, which was just about 18% more than Encore Boston Harbor had managed to record after only one week in business.
Community windfall:
The official figures reportedly furthermore showed that Massachusetts collected approximately $15.8 million in taxes from its three casinos in June to take its historical tally up to $387 million. This had moreover purportedly included around $4.9 million from MGM Springfield as well as the roughly $6.6 million paid by the slots-only Plainridge Park Casino, which is operated by Penn National Gaming Incorporated, off of its own monthly gross gaming revenues of about $13.5 million.
Prestigious promotion:
CalvinAyre.com reported that Encore Boston Harbor is following a tried and tested strategy from Wynn Resorts Limited in being marketed towards more upscale gamblers. As such, the enterprise in the northern Boston suburb of Everett saw first-week revenues from its collection of 144 gaming tables top $7.6 million while its over 3,100 slots brought in a further $9.1 million.
Slots setback:
By comparison, reported that the 120 gaming tables at MGM had recorded takings for the whole of June of approximately $5.2 million with the venue’s 2,550 slots contributing a further $14.7 million, which was only about $1.2 million less than Plainridge Park Casino had managed from its 1,200 machines.
Elevated expectations:
The June results mean that MGM has managed to record ten-month gross gaming revenues of around $217.4 million, which means that it is likely to fall significantly short of its $416 million first-year target. As earlier reported, the 250-room venue has largely failed to attract an expected big-spending clientele and earlier this month announced that it had closed its in-house Starbucks franchise in order to replace the high-end coffee outlet with a new VIP gambling lounge.