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Patrons Wager $79.8M at Mahoning Valley VLTs
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Bettors at Hollywood Gaming at Mahoning Valley Race Course in Austintown wagered $79.8 million in cash and credits during October, the racino’s first full month of operations, the Ohio Lottery Commission reported this afternoon.
According to the commission, which posted the monthly video lottery terminal report on its website, patrons won $70.0 million in credits and received $259,212 in promotional play credits for a net win of $8.6 million in October. Of that net win figure, the commission that the racino received for operating the gambling site was $5.7 million. The lottery commission, which licenses the VLTs, received $2.9 million and $28,668 was set aside for problem gambling services.
The percent payout last month was 89.2%, up from 88.77% the month before.
To date, since the Austintown racino opened Sept. 17, bettors wagered $132.7 million and won $117.8 million at the VLTs. During its initial two weeks, $52.9 million was wagered and $46.9 million won.
In September, a period that included the Labor Day holiday, the Hollywood Gaming at Dayton Raceway in Dayton posted wagers of $74.4 million. Last month, wagers were slightly down from September, $73.1 million.
According to the monthly report, 857 VLTs were in operation on average at the Mahoning Valley racino. The average win per VLT per day was $325, down from $499 in September.
Both Hollywood Gaming at Mahoning Valley Race Course and Mahoning Valley Gaming at Dayton Raceway are operated by Penn National Gaming Inc. of Wyomissing, Pa.
The company does not comment on monthly revenues because new gambling operations require at least two years, if not longer, to establish long-term revenue prospects, spokesman Bob Tenenbaum said last month. In addition, monthly numbers are a poor indicator because of variables such as any holidays or the number of weekends in a given month.
In its quarterly investors' conference call on Oct. 23, company officials called Mahoning Valley's launch "a very impressive story" and said both it and Dayton were off to "solid starts," Tenenbaum reported.
Statewide, the commission posted VLT revenues of $736.1 million in October and $2.7 billion since the start of the fiscal year in July. The average number of VLTs operating per day was 10,355, and the average win per VLT per day was $206.
Live thoroughbred racing at Mahoning Valley’s 1-mile track is scheduled to begin Nov. 24. The Ohio State Racing commission has approved 100 racing dates for 2015 at the track.
Copyright 2014 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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