Slot machines in Las Vegas. Photo by Yamaguchi, courtesy of Wikipedia.
Gamblers lost almost $9.5 million at the new MGM Springfield casino during the first nine days it was open, according to state revenue officials.
The casino reported gross revenue from slot machines and table games of $9,456,976.90 between August 23 and August 31, of which the state collected $2,364,244.23, according to a press release from the Massachusetts Gaming Commission on Monday. That’s a 25 percent tax on gross gaming revenue, which applies to so-called Category 1 resort casinos like MGM Springfield.
Nearly 78 percent of the gambling gross revenue came from slot machines, or $7,347,491.15, with the rest coming from table games ($2,109.485.75).
Gamblers fed slot machines at the Springfield casino $72,621,687.59 during those nine days, of which the casino paid out 89.88 percent, or about $65 million.
Plainridge Park Casino, in the town of Plainville, took in $15,380,183.28 from slot machines during the month of August. (The Plainville casino has been operating slot machines since June 24, 2015.) The state collected $6,152.073.31 in taxes from the slot machines, according to state gaming commission figures.
As a so-called Category 2 slots facility, Plainridge Park Casino is taxed on 49 percent of gross gaming revenue. The state also took $1,384,316.50 in race horse assessments from the Plainville casino.
Gamblers put in $190,063,610.12 into slot machines at the Plainville casino in August, which paid back 91.91 percent of it, or about $174.7 million.
The state’s total haul in gambling tax revenue from the two casinos in August was $9,900,634.04.
Slot machines in Las Vegas. Photo by Yamaguchi, courtesy of Wikipedia. 
