Casinos in Massachusetts Suffer Substantial Revenue Drop in November

Massachusetts’ casino industry reports surprisingly low revenue figures for November. Altogether, the companies have suffered a $24 million drop month-on-month.

MGM On A Record Low

The Massachusetts casino industry has been impacted heavily by the ongoing global pandemic and the tightening safety measures put in place by the state. All three casinos within the State report a substantial drop in monthly earnings.

The surprising monthly figures were released on Tuesday by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission. The report reveals that casino giant MGM Springfield, currently worth around $1 billion, earned only $10.5 million in November. This is not only the company’s lowest result for 2020, but it’s also the lowest result since the casino first opened in August 2018.

What’s particularly surprising about this figure is that it’s even lower compared to July. MGM was not open for some time in July due to the lockdown measures and still managed to end the month with a $10.7 million profit.

Year-on-year, the numbers fall even shorter. In November 2019, MGM earned $19.9 million – almost twice as much as this year.

Consequence of Restrictions

The drastic drop in earnings can be traced back to the number of restrictions placed on casinos within the State of Massachusetts.

MGM Springfield, whose parent MGM Resorts recently restructured its corporate team, is currently open only from 8 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. and at a fraction of its capacity. Only a third of all slot machines and gambling tables can be used at a time.

Furthermore, the casino’s hotel, movie theater and spa are entirely closed for the time being and its catering services are restricted to about only 5 hours on Fridays and Saturdays.

The company has even warned that it may be forced to lay off another 273 employees if the measures tighten any further.

Plainridge and Encore Also Under Pressure

Plainridge Park Casino and Encore Boston Harbor find themselves in a similar situation as MGM Springfield. Both casinos are suffering from the financial pressure of business restrictions.

Encore has reported $11.8 million in gaming revenue in November. Again, this is a significant drop from the $17.4 million the casino earned in October and an even steeper drop compared to November 2019’s $24.5 million. The casino has recently warned that the measures may force it to furlough up to 1000 jobs.

Plainridge’s experience is again the same: the casino earned $7.6 million in gross gaming revenue in November – down from last month’s $10 million. And again, even lower than the $11 million in November last year.

Altogether, Massachusetts’ casinos earned around $45 million in November – a nearly $24 million fall compared to October. The sudden downturn comes after several months of slow but steady recovery. Casino figures have slowly been pushing up every month after the dramatic plunge in April, fuelling hopes for a recovery.

It is still unclear how the situation looks on a national level.