Apr 3, 2013 3 min read

The Meadows Racetrack & Casino saw its March slots revenue decline 5.4 percent from a year ago, but its March revenue climbed dramatically from its February results.

The numbers for the North Strabane Township casino were released Tuesday in the monthly slots revenue report by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.

The PGCB noted in a news release that slot machine gross revenue for March 2013 was the second-highest monthly amount since the opening of casinos in 2006, trailing only the amount reported for March of last year.

According to the PGCB, total gross revenue for Pennsylvania’s 11 casinos in March was $229,335,372, down 1.6 percent from the $233,147,479 reported in March 2012.

However, the latest total exceeded the previous second-highest monthly total of July 2011, when gross revenue was $218,300,465. The board also noted tax revenue generated in March just from slot machine play was $123,428,074.

In a comparison of the 10 casinos operating in March that also were open for the full month of March 2012, revenue was 3.9 percent lower this year. (Valley Forge operated for only one full day plus two test nights in March of last year.)

At The Meadows, gross terminal revenue for the 3,318 slot machines was $21,583,272, down 5.4 percent from the $22,813,406 collected in March 2012.

When viewed on a month-to-month basis, however, The Meadows’ latest slot machine revenue improved dramatically over February.

According to the PGCB’s monthly slot machine gaming report, The Meadows’ March gross terminal revenue was $3,420,608 higher than the $18,162,664 it took in February, an 18.8 percent jump.

Meadows General Manager Sean Sullivan said Wednesday the casino’s lower performance last month versus a year ago was because it offers “a plethora of free-play” offers – about $7.2 million – to entice guests to visit.

He acknowledged that free-play offers are a marketing strategy to entice customers to come when factors like the weather may be keeping them away.

At the same time, Sullivan noted the free-plays also generated some sizeable jackpots that kept The Meadows hold percentage down.

“Part of the game is to make sure your customers are happy, and sometimes they get the best of it,” Sullivan said, adding that over the course of the year, the results should “self-correct” to the casino’s favor.

In results from other casinos in March, The Meadows’ neighbor to the north, Pittsburgh’s Rivers Casino, saw a 2.8 percent jump in slots gross revenue, moving from $26,695,321 in March 2012 to $27,435,784 last month. The Rivers was the only percentage gainer for the month.

Sullivan noted the Rivers has a younger demographic that will continue to visit the casino in bad weather. He noted the Rivers offered considerable fewer free play offers than The Meadows.

The biggest percentage loser for March was Presque Isle Downs and Casino in Erie, which had gross terminal slots revenue of $12,651306 in March, down 15.9 percent from $15,040,028 received in March 2012.