Casinos slot revenues continued to recover in May

Jun. 15—Slot-machine revenues at Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods Resort Casino ticked upward in May, with both casinos posting their best monthly results since the current fiscal year began last July.

Mohegan Sun "won," or kept, $44.9 million in slots revenue after paying out prizes, while Foxwoods kept $32.7 million.

The casinos were closed amid the COVID-19 pandemic in May 2020, making year-over-year comparisons for the month pointless.

Mohegan Sun contributed 25% of its May slots win, or $11.2 million, to the state, bringing its contribution through the first 11 months of the fiscal year to $108.3 million.

Foxwoods, which made $5.8 million in supplemental payments to meet minimum contribution requirements over the previous five months, contributed $2.4 million of its May win to reach the 25% threshold for the month. In effect, Foxwoods took the $5.8 million it already had paid as a credit, which the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe's revenue-sharing agreement with the state allows.

The Mashantuckets own Foxwoods, which has contributed $74.4 million in slot revenue to the state over the first 11 months of the fiscal year.

The identical revenue-sharing agreements the Mashantuckets and the Mohegan Tribe have with the state require that each of their respective casinos' 25% contributions amount to at least $80 million annually.

In the 2019-20 fiscal year, during which the casinos shut down for 11 weeks from mid-March through May due to the coronavirus pandemic, Mohegan Sun contributed $107.2 million to the state while Foxwoods contributed $85.5 million, for a combined total of $192.7 million. In fiscal 2018-19, Mohegan Sun contributed $142.2 million while Foxwoods contributed $113 million, for a total of $255.2 million.

The casinos' combined contribution peaked at $430.5 million in 2006-07.

b.hallenbeck@theday.com