Compared with March 2015, revenue from Detroit’s three commercially licensed casinos rose 0.8 percent and 7 percent from February. However, according to the Revenue and Wage Report released on Tuesday by the Michigan Gaming Control Board, the quarter’s aggregate revenue from the trio saw a slight increase of only 0.3 percent, as reported by Crain’s Detroit Business.
For the first quarter, $145.7 million in revenue was reported by MGM Grand, an increase of 1.5 percent compared to the same period last year. MotorCity Casino & Hotel was up 0.6 percent, reporting $121.2 million in revenue. And reporting the only decline for the quarter, Greektown Casino Hotel’s revenue was $83.5 million, a 2.1 percent decline.
March revenue for MGM totaled $51.8 million, an increase of 4 percent over March of 2015. A 0.6 percent increase in revenue at MotorCity for March brings it in at $43.7 million, while Greektown reported a 4 percent decline in March at $29.4 million. For the month of March, MGM captured 41 percent of the market, a 35 percent market share was had by MotorCity and coming in last was Greektown with 24 percent of the market.
During the first quarter, Detroit’s three privately owned and operated casinos paid $28.4 million in state gaming taxes, compared with $28.3 million for the same time period last year. During the quarter, more than $41 million in development agreement payments and wagering taxes were submitted to the city of Detroit by the three casinos.
In other Detroit casino news, in December, after months of complicated negotiations, workers from all three of Detroit’s commercially licensed casinos ratified a new five-year contract. Approved by a majority of workers from the casinos, the new contract replaces the previous one that expired on October 16 and gives full-time workers a $4,250 signing bonus, maintains healthcare costs for approximately 6,000 workers represented by the Detroit Casino Council, and provides modest wage increases in years four and five of the contract.