Slot Machines are Paying Off

The Mohegan Sun is off to a stellar beginning, especially since gamblers wagered more than $12 million on the slot machines during the first two days. The state, receiving 55% tax on the slot machine revenue, walked away with over $690,000. "It's obvious there is a great interest in gaming as entertainment in Pennsylvania," said Doug Harbach, spokesman for the state Gaming Control Board.

With Mohegan Sun doing so well, talk has shifted to their competition. The Meadows in Washington County had its official groundbreaking for the new The Meadows Racetrack & Casino. The slot machine casino is planning on opening next May as a temporary gaming parlor, and will have 1,700 slot machines. They anticipate thousands of slot machine players a day.

Owners of the Meadows expect to make as much slot machine revenue as Mohegan Sun did, if not more. "We wouldn't be making this investment if we didn't expect it," said Bill Paulos, of Cannery Casino Resorts and its parent firm, Millennium Gaming. Paulos is part of the company that finalized the $200 million purchase from Magna Entertainment Corp. of what will soon be the second casino to open its doors. The temporary facility will hold the 1,700 slot machines and be able to handle the traffic that the casino expects to get initially.

The slot machine casino will then complete the permanent casino, which will hold 3,000 slot machines, as well as a theatre, restaurants, bars, etc. They took note of the fact that the Mohegan Sun opened their doors at 10 am, and by midnight more than 16,000 gamblers had come through to play the 1,096 slot machines. Sun Marketing Director Jim Wise didn't have attendance figures for Wednesday or yesterday, but said, "We have been very, very busy. Customer response [to the slot machines] has been outstanding.''

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