Casino gaming revenue numbers announced Wednesday afternoon by the Kansas Lottery Commission showed a continued decline of more than one-fourth of the revenues at the Hollywood Casino at Kansas Speedway.
The casino reported $9.34 million in gaming revenues for the month of August 2020, compared to $13.16 million for the month of August 2019, according to Kansas Lottery figures. It was about a 29 percent decline.
Keith Kocher, director of program assurance and integrity for the Kansas Lottery, said that just like last month, the state’s four casinos are about 18 percent behind last year’s figures for the month.
Hollywood Casino has had to cut back on the number of slot machines and table games they are offering, during the COVID-19 pandemic, and also has had to limit the number of people in the facility. They also are closed from 2 a.m. to 8 a.m. on Mondays through Thursdays for cleaning, and were previously open 24 hours a day.
“Casinos are doing the best they can,” Kocher said. “It’s challenging but they are continuing to be safe and get as many in as they feel comfortable coming in.”
Kocher said that overall, the casinos are feeling positive. They had no idea how things would go when they reopened in May, and in June, they saw a lot of pent-up demand, he said. The demand has leveled off somewhat now. It seems that they’re reasonably happy with what’s going on right now, Kocher said, and everyone wants to see the numbers go back up to normal.
Stephen Durrell, Kansas Lottery executive director, said the casinos are doing the best job they can in the circumstances. They are very proactive to make sure they are maintaining safety standards for staff and players, he said. It is an extra difficult time for them and for any businesses to be open, he said.
Hollywood Casino pays 3 percent of the gaming revenues in a tax to the Unified Government, and 22 percent to the state of Kansas.
In a written report to the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission, Rick Skinner, vice president and general manager of Hollywood Casino, stated that admissions were down 41 percent in August 2020 compared to August 2019.
While there was a decrease of 29 percent in comparison to last year, it was an increase of $800,000 over last month’s revenues, Skinner reported.
Slots revenue came in at $8.8 million, a decrease of 24.4 percent, and table games revenue was $572,000, a decrease of 57 percent, he reported. The poker room remained closed at the casino.
The Hollywood Casino has some special events planned in the coming weeks, including the Winning Hand promotion Sept. 11 and 18; a VIP high limit pull party Sept. 12, the Raid the Vault giveaway on Sept. 19, and the $250,000 risky bonus promotion on Sept. 25 and 26.
At the Sept. 9 Kansas Lottery Commission meeting, the proposed 2021 lottery budget was approved.
Matthew Schwartz, director of finance for the lottery, said he projected about $410 million in total state casino revenue for 2021 last year. Now the projection is $311 million, he said, about 25 percent off from where it was.
Hollywood Casino, with the strictest local restrictions, is the farthest off of the four casinos, he added.