Slot machine revenues for Connecticut’s two gaming tribes tumbled precipitously last month to levels not seen for 30 years.
Foxwoods Resort Casino realized $21.8 million, 43.7 percent lower than 2019. The Mohegan Sun’s profit was $28.5 million, a 37.7 percent decline from last year.
Mohegan Sun President and General Manager Jeff Hamilton blamed it on the Covid-19 pandemic.
The last time Foxwoods saw such numbers was January 1993 when it kept $20.4 million. For the Mohegan Sun that comparison was December 1997, when its profit was $27.3 million.
Despite these figures, Hamilton is hopeful about the future: “We’ve got to keep our head above water and with the (Covid-19) vaccine coming in the spring, we’ll get back to normal,” he said. “We’re shooting for some time in May from an entertainment perspective, around Mother’s Day, Memorial Day. We definitely believe that by late spring, early summer we’ll have some level of normalcy.”
The Connecticut tribes are also hoping that the legislature will authorize sports betting, which is not so dependent on whether customers fear visiting a casino.
