August Massachusetts Casino Figures No. 2 Behind Record July

After a record-setting July, Massachusetts casinos saw their handles and revenues dip in August. But the month’s numbers still hit No. 2 on the state’s all-time list in both categories.

The three commercial casinos in the Bay State – Plainridge Park in Plainville, Encore Boston Harbor in Everett and MGM Springfield – combined for $762,758,615 in handle for August, down from the all-time high water mark of $807,913,393 reported in July.

As for revenue, the three Massachusetts gaming facilities recorded $92,385,101 last month, 3.5% lower than the record $95,737,508 for July, according to monthly figures reported by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission.

But the August figures were still quite good for Massachusetts – the month was only the second one ever in which the state’s three commercial casinos combined to exceed $750 million in handle and $90 million in revenue since the roster expanded to three with the opening of Encore Boston Harbor in June 2019.

And the figures were way ahead in a year-over-year comparison. August’s handle was 25% higher than August 2020 ($610 million) and the revenue was up by 30% from 12 months earlier ($71 million).

In May 2021, the MGC ended orders related to halting the spread of COVID-19 in the state’s casinos. That allowed casinos to operate at full capacity again for the first time since the coronavirus hammered the industry nationwide starting in the spring of 2020.

Breakdown of Massachusetts August Numbers

Encore led the state in handle for August at $376.2 million, followed by MGM with $206.5 million and Plainridge Park, which has only slot machines, at about $180 million (the other two casinos have both slots and table games). In July, both Encore ($402.8 million) and MGM ($185.7 million) set monthly handle records at their facilities. The record at Plainridge Park, $194.6 million, has stood since July 2017.

As for revenue, Encore was tops again in August at $57.86 million, followed by MGM ($21.8M) and Plainridge ($12.7M). Encore was coming off of a record July, when it made more than $95 million in revenue. MGM’s monthly record of $26.95 million was set in September 2018 and Plainridge’s record, $18.16 million, has stood since July 2015.

Slots contributed $32.43 million to Encore’s revenue and table games accounted for $25.43 million in gross gaming revenue in August. At MGM Springfield, $16.9 million in revenue derived from slots and $4.9 million came from table games.