Pennsylvania Table Games Revenue in July Highest to Date

Continued success in casino table games market also spurs employment growth

HARRISBURG, Pa., Aug. 16, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The play of table games during July in Pennsylvania casinos set a new high in revenue and taxes produced during a single month.

According to figures released and posted on the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board's website, www.pgcb.pa.gov, gross revenue produced by table games play at the 10 casinos was $56,183,506.  The previous high month was March 2011 when gross revenue from table games was $54,606,617.

Tax revenue generated from table games during July was $9,031,983.  Pennsylvania taxes gross table games revenue at 16%.

The Gaming Control Board also announced that as of July 1, 2011, total employment at Pennsylvania's casinos had increased 7% over the previous first quarter of 2011 and now stood at 15,064 (see below chart).  Employment at the close of the first quarter of 2011 was 14,097.

Gaming Control Board Chairman Greg Fajt says the continued growth in employment at the casinos is due in large part to the decision to expand into table games.

"We have already seen a 45% increase in the number of tables in operation since table games were introduced a year ago," Fajt says. "As a labor intensive operation, this means casinos require more trained employees to fill these well-paying jobs, and certainly with an unemployment rate of 7.2% in Pennsylvania, every new job is meaningful."

Gross revenue for each of the casinos in July 2011 is as follows:

This chart lists the total number of employees reported by casinos to the Gaming Control Board through the second quarter of 2011:

About the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board:
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board was established in 2004 with the passage of Act 71, also known as the Race Horse Development and Gaming Act. Pennsylvania's first new state agency in nearly 40 years, the Gaming Control Board is tasked to oversee all aspects of the state's casino industry. Currently, the ten casinos in operation in the Commonwealth employ over 15,000 people and legalized gaming has generated $5.5 billion in tax and license fee revenue since the first casino opened in November 2006. A portion of that money is enabling property tax reduction for all Pennsylvania homeowners, providing needed funding to the Commonwealth's horse racing industry, funding grants for fire companies and water/sewer projects, and establishing a new stream of tax revenue to local governments for community projects. A wealth of information about the Gaming Control Board and Pennsylvania's gaming industry can be found at www.pgcb.state.pa.us. At this web site, visitors can view videos of Board meetings and on the operation of the PGCB, obtain information on identifying a gambling problem and gaining assistance, look up future meeting schedules and past meeting transcripts, access an interactive map of casino locations, request a speaker for their group, along with much more information.

CONTACT: Doug Harbach or Richard McGarvey
(717) 346-8321

SOURCE Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board