Pennsylvania casinos set revenue record; no bids for Cat 4 license

Pennsylvania casinos set a new monthly revenue record in March but the latest auction for a satellite casino license still came up empty.

On Tuesday, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) proudly announced that the state’s 12 casinos generated revenue of $300.5m in March, a 3.8% improvement over the same month last year and a new monthly revenue record, surpassing the previous record of $296.7m in March 2013.

March’s gains came entirely due to slot machines, which gained 5.4% year-on-year to $221.3m. Table game revenue slipped half a percentage point to $79.2m, thanks largely to an 11.4% fall at Sands Bethlehem, which nonetheless still managed to top the table chart with $18.9m, although runner-up Parx Casino made a valiant charge, rising 11.9% to just under $17.2m.

Despite March’s record bounty, the PGCB was chagrined to announce Wednesday that its latest auction for a Category 4 ‘satellite’ casino license attracted exactly zero bidders, calling into question the point of holding future auctions.