If you have ever wondered about land- based gaming and how well the payouts are coming, then consider what is happening in Connecticut. The state has plenty of games thanks to the Mohegan Sun casino and all it is doing for the market. The casino has a great history of paying out and within the past month or so that reputation has only gotten better. Player Gabriel Brin-Martin was wagering on the Star Wars game when she ended up hitting the huge progressive jackpot. It is a well-known game that has taken the market by storm but even Star Wars non-lovers have had a great time with the game. It came into the market a few years ago and due to its popular theme and layout has paid out a lot to gamers. Brin-Martin ended up walking away with just over $1.4-million for her lucky playing. She was excited because it is a penny-slots game. Only in today’s market can you wager just a few pennies and come up with a win like that. It is a sign of how popular the games of today are and how much you can now get from a “small” penny-slots game. This wasn’t the only payout that the Mohegan Sun has dealt out in recent months. They also paid out $1.7-million to another gambler at the end of March and $50,000 to someone else around the same time. This is a sign of how far the market has come and how many people are now benefiting from the expansion of gambling.

If you love to wager, then you are going to love playing on the new version of penny slots. They no longer are limiting games that offer you a few dollars of pay here and there. If you are wagering on the right game you could end up walking away with a life-changing amount of a payout. You don’t have to work with high-wager games either. Nowadays you can find plenty of penny- and nickel-slots games that offer you a great opportunity to keep on winning that much more money. The next time you are at the casino, be sure to watch out for the smaller-wager games. You could be the next big winner thanks to playing them.

There are some great headlines in the world of gaming. Right now it is the Mohegan Sun that is posting some great numbers for the first week of January of the new year. The casino posted a revenue stream of $5.7 million throughout the week. That is a huge win for the casino because of the market and it is making operators more hopeful than ever.

They are looking to the future and hoping that they can continue to generate revenue like this. If they can, the casino will benefit because of the huge dollars that can be refueled back into the market. They can consistently build better gaming too. This also benefits the gaming public because they can be sure to have access to some of the best games in the market right now. They can also benefit from the huge bonuses the casino is going to offer them. Overall it is a cyclical process—the more people the casino attracts, the bigger the payouts they can build. The bigger payouts, the more people they can attract. Part of the success of the first week is also attributed to the timing. With the holidays over, gamers are more open to spending money. They have gotten through gift-giving and other projects and now can open the door for returning to wagering once again. There is another market that is tapped out and want to use gambling as a hopeful way to rebuild their finances.
Not only is it a benefit for the casino and the gamers who love it, it also is a huge benefit for the state. State legislators are excited too because of the huge tax revenue dollars the success of this project may bring. If the casino can continue to bring in that kind of money, the state can pay down their huge budget deficit and work on the budget that much sooner. It may come that the state can continue to increase its own infrastructure building and include items on its budget that were formerly cut back on. There are few other options to bringing in the cash needed for a change, so legislators are excited about the possibilities that this casino is affording.

Connecticut’s two casinos reported that slot machine revenue has dropped about 4% in October compared with the same month last year — a lower rate of decline than the casinos have seen in several months of the past year. The Foxwoods Resort and Casino and MGM Grand at Foxwoods, both run by the Mashantucket Pequot tribe, reported that their slots revenue totaled $54.8 million, down from $57.1 million in October 2008. In addition, the Mohegan tribe, which operates Mohegan Sun, said it took in $62.9 million from its slot machines, down from $65.4 million from October 2008. Compared with September’s slot revenues, Foxwoods and MGM Grand earned nearly the same in October, while Mohegan Sun saw about a $3.5 million, or 6%, increase. Both casinos give the state 25% of their slot machine revenues, under their gaming contracts.

The two casino operators are huge in the market of gambling. Each one is in the midst of its own development and expansion projects to better serve customers. The Foxwoods Resort and Casino is slated to add a huge IMAX Theater, retail shops, office space and more restaurants coming shortly. The million-dollar expansion is slated to be completed and open by early next year. One of the biggest draws of the casino is that it offers a wide variety of things for a wide variety of clientele to do.  There is a golf course neighboring for any golfing needs. The casino is a premiere venue that has all of the games that you can find in Las Vegas or Atlantic City. If you do a search, the Foxwoods is the largest casino in the area and has maintained its reputation over the years.

On the otherhand you have the Mohegan Sun. This is a casino that also has stood the test of time and lasted throughout the recession. It never suffered the same financial turmoil that a lot of smaller race tracks and venues did. The Mohegan Sun was able to stand and keep bringing in the huge revenue it needed to fund its operations. In addition, it was able to contribute its normal 25% to the state. That money is being earmarked for various public works programs and education.

Although gambling is a huge industry, new numbers are proving that the recession has touched the land-based casino market.  Both Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun experienced double-digit declines in August of 2009. The recession has affected almost every business because many Americans are not spending, or at minimum, not spending like they used to. The unemployment rate, combined with the housing and lending crash of 2008, rendered many people helpless when trying to find funds for bills. As a result, retail outlets have suffered greatly. The signs of the market are that people are not spending and not feeling comfortable enough to return to their old ways. Most people, according to a recent survey, are waiting for the business world to return to its stability of old, and then they will start spending slowly.  Analysts state that this may be a wise decision for the individual but not such a wise decision to get businesses back on their feet.

It’s estimated that there is an overall 31% decline in retail sales in the past year. This is a direct result of the recession and how people feel about their finances at this time. One industry that was seemingly impervious to the financial crash was gambling. Regardless of how low spending got, casinos were still bringing in millions of dollars—both land-based and online. 

New research is showing that land-based casinos are suffering however.  Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun are bringing new numbers to the forefront. MGM Grand at Foxwoods reported that the casino brought in $54.8 million at their slot machines last month, which was a decrease of 2.8 percent over September 2008. The Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority, meanwhile, reported that Mohegan Sun brought in $59.4 million at its slots in September, which was an 11.3 percent decline over the same month a year ago. Though the numbers are down, it still marks the casinos’ best 30-day performance in months. Michael Speller, president of Mashantucket Pequot Gaming Enterprises, stated, “These results represent our best month in market share since May.” The Mashantuckets forwarded $14.3 million in slot win to the state Division of Special Revenue, while the Mohegan authority reported a $14.9 million contribution

The Foxwoods Casino and the Mohegan Sun combined have thousands of slot machines on their floors. They both are an example of casinos that have recently expanded, due to the overwhelming growth in casino gambling. Despite the recession, where almost every store lost huge revenues, gambling is one industry that seems impervious to market fluctuation. In particular online casinos have seen large growth spurts, but land-based casinos have held their own in terms of revenues. Both types of casinos have spent the last few years upgrading their slot machines and facilities, or planning an upgrade in the near future. The upgrade would include a reworked system that speeds up the payout process. Customers don’t have to maneuver coins, rather they can use a receipt-like cashing out system. The machine automatically prints a receipt when the player is done gambling and then he or she takes it to the cash cage to check out and receive funds.

Part of the problem with the expansion however, is that it can create problems. Many opponents to legalizing gambling are creating a strong argument as to why upgrading slots parlors to make them quicker would be detrimental to the communities they are in.  Christopher Armentano, director of Compulsive Gambling Treatment Program, stated, “It’s a common belief among gambling experts that the faster the game plays, the higher the possibility that the game is highly addictive.”  He is claiming that slot machines will be more “addictive now that they are becoming much easier and faster to play.” He believes that addictions will run rampant as gamers evolve gambling games and make them easier and more accessible.

The VP of slot operations as the Mohegan Sun Frank Neborsky, denies Armentano’s claims. Neborsky believes that gamblers, especially repeat ones, know when to stop. He also believes that better and quicker play just encourages gamblers to keep playing. “They still are aware enough to stop when they need to,” he added.  “People know what their bankrolls are. If they can’t stop, we have the necessary resources on site to get them help, or at least push them in the right direction.”

One concern with the prevalence of online gambling is its consistent regulation.  Online casinos are being hard pressed to increase their security policies and gaming structure to make sure that no one underage is allowed to log-on to their system.  This poses a difficult problem because many young people have access to their parents’ personal information and are more attuned to online gaming than anyone else in the culture.  In addition, there are some countries toying with the idea of lowering the online gambling age to 18, rather than 21.  All these legal issues come with a lot of ethical debates. 

In Pennsylvania, one casino operator was fined $97,500 recently as a result of 15 counts of underage gambling that occurred in his casino.  There were two votes on the large fine and both times it was pushed through with relatively no resistance from the Gaming Control Board members.  It was the Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs that violated the age limit and ended up paying big. 

The Mohegan Sun agreed to pay a civil fine of $49,500 for the first 11 incidents of underage gambling. These incidents involved slot machines on the gaming floor that were accessed by underage gamblers between the ages of 18 to 21. In the midst of security and video surveillance, the underage people were still able to enter the casino, gain access to slots and gamble.

The second part of the fine was paid out for $48,000. This was for four separate incidents were individuals under 18 were allowed access to the casino floor. This was despite an agreement stating that individuals under 18 are not allowed to enter the gaming floor at all.  

The final part of the ruling was for changes to occur at the Mohegan Sun. The casino agreed to increase staff and security at all entrances to the casino. They had to submit proposals and estimates of the added security to be staffed at all times at the entrances.  The company had to create additional ID scanning locations also.  The major part of the fine was not just the money, but the requirement and regulation of a higher security standard for the casino at all times. 

Lawmakers in Connecticut are working with the state’s Attorney General, Martha Coakley, to develop casino regulations that will be ready once expanded gambling plans are approved on Beacon Hill.  Coakley stated, “We want to have a regulatory structure in place before a bill comes out…I’m told that gambling brings certain types of crime, such as money laundering and gang activity. We want to make sure that we have the regulatory authority to oversee whatever comes out of the legislature.” 

In April, Senate President Therese Murray, House Speaker Robert DeLeo and Governor Deval Patrick all agreed that the proposed expansion of gambling legislation in the state are acceptable.  Despite a dip in slot revenues and a substantial layoff at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut, lawmakers are still looking to focus on increased gambling locales.  As Murray stated, “There’s still up to $900 million going out of the state to Connecticut and Rhode Island gambling facilities, and we’d like to capture that.”

Connecticut’s Division of Special Revenue is showing a notable dip in revenues at both Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun casinos.  The decrease in revenue is attributed to the recession and hard-hitting economy that has his the nation, causing many people to scale back on discretionary spending.  Both Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun casinos suffered a 7.5% decrease in profits, bringing in only $736.4 million, for the first two quarters of 2009. Last year, the total revenue was $796 million for the first half of the year.

According to the Center for Policy Analysis at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth, just over 30% of customers at Foxwoods and just under 20% at Mohegan Sun, are Massachusetts  residents.  Both casinos have contributed a combined $5 billion to the state and local governments in the last 15 years.