Figures released Monday from the Maine Gambling Control Board show slot machine playing was down in Bangor in 2015, while in Oxford there was reason for the house to smile.
Oxford Casino reported nearly $4 million more in revenue last year over 2014.
As the host municipality, the town of Oxford received more than $1.5 million from the casino, according to the state figures.
“I think Bangor is still trying to find that number, how that effect of Oxford is still coming in,” board Executive Director Patrick Fleming said. “I think it’s just a matter of population base that (Oxford) has to draw from. It makes sense that they would do better overall.”
The amount of money gambled at Hollywood Casino in Bangor has dropped nearly one-quarter since Oxford Casino opened in 2012.
Hollywood ended the year with 787 slot machines and 16 table games, Oxford with 854 slot machines and 26 table games.
Maine’s two casinos are taxed differently, based on the laws that created them, so both report their figures differently month-to-month.
Numbers show that last year, players wagered a total of $431 million on Hollywood’s slot machines, down $28 million from 2014. Its table game revenue was up year-over-year, from $8 million to nearly $9 million.
Oxford Casino, meanwhile, has not yet released figures on the total amount wagered on slot machines there. It has reported to the state that it had $62 million in slot machine net revenue in 2015 compared to $58.3 million in 2014. Table game net revenue was nearly flat at $14.5 million.
Last year, Oxford Casino’s $58.3 million in net revenue came from customers gambling $662 million on slot machines.
The comparison will become clearer next month in the Gambling Control Board’s annual report to the governor, which contains further financial breakdowns, including whether Oxford’s slots revenue increase came from customers gambling more or the casino paying out less, Fleming said.
Oxford Casino, owned by Churchill Downs Inc., employs 400 people and is hiring for cashiers, bussers and table game dealers, spokeswoman Jane McClay Hoyt said Monday. She declined comment on the casino’s financial specifics.
kskelton@sunjournal.com
Casino snapshot
Oxford Casino revenues, by year:
2012 slots: $29.88 million (open half of year)
2013 slots: $58.35 million
2014 slots: $58.36 million
2015 slots: $62.09 million
Source: Maine Gambling Control Board
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