WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas’ four state-owned casinos reported a 28% drop in revenue last year when they were closed for two months because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The four casinos in Kansas City, Mulvane, Dodge City and Pittsburg generated about $300 million revenue in 2020, down from $416 million the year before. That means state and local governments are receiving less money from gambling.
“It’s been a really difficult year for a lot of businesses and obviously, our casinos are part of that,” said Stephen Durrell, executive director of the Kansas Lottery, which owns the four casinos that are run by private companies.
The casinos closed March 17 because of the pandemic and didn’t reopen until May 22. And ever since reopening, the casinos have been operating at reduced capacity.
For instance, the Kansas Star casino in Mulvane normally runs 1,650 slot machines and 62 gaming tables along with a 10-table poker room. Now, it’s running about 900 slots and 44 tables, and the poker room remains closed.
The casinos also had to spend more on sanitizing their facilities and installing plastic barriers between players and dealers.
The biggest revenue decline was reported at the Hollywood Casino in Kansas City because it relied more heavily on poker revenue than the other casinos. Revenue there fell 35% to $99.4 million in 2020.
At the three other casinos across the state, revenue was down between 22% and 25%.