Additionally, $165 million is received from casinos for table games certification

HARRISBURG, Pa., June 2 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The play of slot machines in Pennsylvania returned $12,391,146 more in tax revenue during May of this year compared to the same month in 2009, an increase of 12.63%.

According to figures released today by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, the nine slot machine facilities operating during May of this year collectively generated $200,944,627 in gross revenue, compared to $178,415,270 in May of 2009. When the 55% tax rate is applied to the May 2010 gross revenue, tax collections were $110,519,545, an average of $3.57 million per day.

Approximately two-thirds of the collected tax revenue was returned to homeowners in the form of general property tax reduction. It is anticipated that the average Pennsylvania homeowner, who has signed up for the Homestead Exemption through their county, will receive a reduction of nearly $200 this year. The exact reduction differs from school district to school district based on the total amount of slot machine generated tax dollars distributed to the school district and the number of homeowners signed up to receive the Homestead Exemption.

The Gaming Control Board also compared gross revenue of just the seven casinos operating in both May of 2009 and May of 2010. The result was a revenue decrease of 6.11%, $157,482,601 in 2010 compared to $167,725,422 in 2009. Even with that loss, this revenue measurement has seen increases in 20 of the past 23 months dating back to July of 2008.

In addition to the revenue from slots play, Pennsylvania also received $165 million from 10 casinos by the close of business on June 1st as payment for their approved table games certification. All nine operating casinos, along with the SugarHouse Casino in Philadelphia which is scheduled to begin operations in September of this year, submitted a payment of $16.5 million each to fulfill one of the requirements to operate table games. Earlier this year, each casino filed an application to receive a table games certificate and, following an open process that included public input hearings within each local government where a casino is located, were approved by the Board.

It is expected that casinos in Pennsylvania will begin offering table games in July.

Gross revenue for each of the casinos operating in May 2010 are as follows with percentage change reflected for those casinos that were operating in both years:

    Casino                            May 2010        May 2009     % change    parx casino (Philadelphia Park     Racetrack)                     $37,129,984.16  $32,832,771.06    13.09%    Harrah's Chester Casino and     Racetrack                      $25,796,240.40  $29,355,486.66   -12.12%    The Meadows Racetrack and     Casino                         $23,884,608.17  $31,594,459.96   -24.40%    *Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem  $23,059,792.41  $10,689,848.15       --    Hollywood Casino at Penn     National Racecourse            $22,982,424.37  $22,276,510.63     3.17%                                                    (NOT OPEN MAY    Rivers Casino                   $20,402,233.14      2009)            --    Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs     $19,639,274.33  $20,702,050.59    -5.13%    Presque Isle Downs and Casino   $15,453,886.84  $15,610,758.85    -1.00%    Mount Airy Casino Resort        $12,596,183.32  $15,353,384.89   -17.96%    Statewide Total                $200,944,627.14 $178,415,270.79    12.63%

*Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem opened on May 22, 2009, so was- open only 10 days in May 2009 compared to 31 days in May 2010

The average number of slot machines operating daily at the nine casinos was 24,266 in May 2010 compared to 19,984 in May 2009.

The Gaming Control Board provides weekly and monthly casino revenue reports on its web site, www.pgcb.state.pa.us. In addition, videos and information on the operation of the PGCB, problem gambling efforts and avenues for assistance, future meeting schedules and past meeting transcripts, and a link to request a speaker are among the many items available to the public on the web site.

SOURCE Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board