Mohegan Sun, Foxwoods gaming experience declines
Published on: January 12, 2024 at 05:50 pm.
Last updated on: January 12, 2024 at 05:50 pm.
Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods have reported declining gaming revenues in recent fiscal years.
In the tribal casinos’ first full year of operation alongside legal iGaming in Connecticut, brick-and-mortar casinos saw a decline in play.
Through financial disclosures, Uncasville-based Mohegan Sun disclosed gross gaming revenue (GGR) of $598.96 million for the 2023 fiscal year ending September 30. This represents a decline of 5.15% year-on-year.
And at Foxwoods in Ledyard, total retail sales totaled $515.54 million for the same 12-month period. This represents a 1.2% decrease from the tribal casino’s 2022 financial performance.
Decreased revenues at tribal resorts
Some of the declines in tribal gaming were offset by the resort’s other amenities.
At Mohegan Sun, the property increased food and beverage sales nearly 8% to $97.7 million. Hotel room revenue rose nearly 1% to $95 million, and retail and entertainment revenue rose nearly 4% to $128.4 million.
However, Mohegan Sun’s consolidated net revenue of $920.2 million was about $20 million less than in fiscal 2022 when the integrated resort took in about $940.3 million.
Mohegan Sun Casino spans 310,000 square feet and offers 3,495 slot machines, 245 table games and a FanDuel Sportsbook. The destination includes a 10,000-seat concert hall, 84 F&B and retail outlets, and 1,562 hotel rooms.
Mohegan Sun’s fiscal year net income, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), totaled $258.2 million. This represents an 8.4% decline in casino profits from the casino’s 2022 fiscal year.
Mohegan officials said in the financial report that “declining gaming volumes and table hold” were responsible for GGR’s decline.
At Foxwoods, the casino reported that “non-gaming revenue,” including food and beverage, retail, hotels and entertainment, was just over $177 million — up about 2%. Food and beverage prices rose 11% to $47.4 million, hotel revenues were flat at $68.8 million, and retail and entertainment funds increased 5% to $60.8 million.
Due to higher overhead costs, Foxwoods’ EBITDA of approximately $110.7 million represents a 16% decline from fiscal 2022.
Foxwoods officials noted that payroll costs were $29.8 million higher than the previous year. The integrated resort said “other operating expenses” were more expensive at $42.3 million, expenses that were driven by “increasing the hotel’s gaming footprint and expanding non-gaming amenities coupled with current inflationary pressure on commodity prices.”
The 300,000-square-foot Foxwoods Casino features nearly 3,300 slots, 250 table games and a DraftKings sportsbook. Three hotels offer 1,950 rooms, and the resort features 31 restaurants, lounges and bars.
iGaming income
In addition to their mega resorts, Connecticut’s two tribal casinos have been operating online casino games since 2021 after amending their third-tier agreements with the state. In addition, their sports betting partners do remote betting.
Through 11 months of 2023 (December yet to be announced), iGaming revenue for Tribes and their two partners – DraftKings and FanDuel – totals more than $295.2 million.
The tribes’ online sports betting companies won more than $85.6 million from remote bettors for a combined online total of about $380.8 million with a month of revenue left to report.
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