Connecticut’s two resort casinos on Thursday reported losses in excess of 15 percent for the October slot revenues, a steep drop attributed to Superstorm Sandy.
“Absolutely, Hurricane Sandy impacted gaming revenues,” said Bobby Soper, chief executive of Mohegan Sun. “When the highways are closed, hundreds of thousands of people are without power … the operations are going to be impacted.”
Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket reported slots revenues of $42.9 million in October, a 15.6 percent drop from the $50.9 million in slot revenues from October 2011.
In addition to the increased regional competition and slumping economy that has eroded its revenues for more than a decade, Foxwoods said the significant drop in October came as regional customers coped with the impacts of Sandy. Sandy caused significant flooding and damage along the Connecticut coastline and power outages throughout the state, some lasting more than a week.
Mohegan Sun resort casino in the Uncasville section of Montville reported October slots revenues of $48.5 million, a 17.6 percent drop from the $58.8 million in slot revenues from October 2011.
Mohegan Sun also had unusually high slots revenues in October 2011 as the casino was celebrating its 15-year anniversary and putting on a special concert from Jennifer Lopez.
The two casinos have sources of revenue other than slot machines, such as table games, hotels, restaurants, shops, and entertainment. Slots are the only revenues they are both required to disclose publicly, and they are an indicator of the level of business at the casinos since slots are the most popular form of gambling.
In the days following Sandy, both casinos reported their hotels were at capacity and were offering discounts to customers traveling from Sandy-impacted areas. While this helped the hotel and restaurant revenues, it did not translate into extra gaming revenues, Soper said.
As part of their agreements to operate in Connecticut, the casinos must give 25 percent of their slot revenues to the state general fund. In October, Foxwoods gave $11.1 million while Mohegan gave $12.1 million.
