After reporting a surge in slot play since the Oct. 19 debut of poker tables, Mountaineer Race Track & Gaming Resort posted an $11.5 million drop in net revenues during the quarter that ended Sept. 30.
The Associated Press offers the details. The track's parent, MTR Gaming Group Inc., reported an overall loss of $2.8 million.
President and CEO Ted Arneault blamed the track's revenue slide on the competing Pennsylvania slot venues that helped fuel the push to legalize casino table games in West Virginia.
"Profitability was also hurt by MTR's spending on marketing," AP's Vicki Smith reports. "The track spent $900,000 on a customer-loyalty program during the quarter and $600,000 to support a local referendum that ultimately passed and allowed the track to launch poker, blackjack and other table games."
But Mountaineer soon plans to increase the tables in its new poker room to at least 41. "It's a dynamite room, and so far, that's all we can really judge... On the weekends, there's standing room only," Arneault said.
"Another 50 games, such as blackjack and roulette, should debut by Jan. 1," the AP article said.
No comments:
Post a Comment