Pennsylvania Casino Industry Sees Decline

(Associated Press) - Gamblers at Pennsylvania casinos continued to hit the tables in a big way last year, but all those hands of blackjack and spins of the roulette wheel still weren't enough to prevent the industry from suffering its first overall revenue decline since casino play began in 2006.

Pennsylvania's 12 casinos raked in about $730 million from more than 1,000 table games last year, a 6 percent increase over 2012, according to year-end revenue numbers released Thursday. But thanks to a decline in slot-machine play, gross casino revenue in 2013 dipped about 1.4 percent to $3.1 billion, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board said.

State gaming regulators have cited increased competition from border states as one reason why the casinos' haul from slot machines declined 3.5 percent last year to less than $2.4 billion. The year-end slots numbers were released in early January.

The results were brighter at the tables, with the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem leading the way at nearly $177 million, up 21 percent over 2012, according to the year-end results posted Thursday.

Even here, though, some casinos fared better than others. Five of the 12 casinos took in less money from tables last year than they did the year before. Of those, Presque Isle Downs and Casino in Erie posted the biggest decline, off 26 percent.

Pennsylvania's gambling market has become the nation's second largest after Las Vegas in terms of gross revenue and No. 1 in taxes collected. Pennsylvania collected about $1.4 billion in taxes last year. It uses that money to support the state budget, public schools, civic development projects, volunteer firefighting squads, local governments and the horse racing industry.