The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board approved Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course’s petition to modify its gaming floor, which includes the reduction of slot machines.
It is the not first Pennsylvania casinos to ask the PGCB for slot removal. Rivers Casino Pittsburgh removed 302 slots in April after getting PGCB approval.
The Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course, located in Grantville, cited skill games as primary reason for the slot reduction.
Hollywood PNRC to remove 169 slots from gaming floor
Hollywood Casino at PNRC Vice President and General Manager, Tony Frabbiele, presented the casino’s plan in reducing the number of slots on the gaming floor.
Frabbiele requested the removal of 169 slots to take the current count down to 1,532. Aside from skill games, the average age of the machines are 15 years old with an average occupancy of 8%.
“What we find is successful is when customers are comfortable at a game and the game is getting the right amount of occupancy inplay, it’s a better experience for our customers,” Frabbiele told the PGCB.
“It relates to better revenue and better return for the Commonwealth as well as our company.”
Hollywood Casino at PNRC presented data that showed that the highest average occupancy of the gaming floor occurs on Friday and Saturday at about 20%. The casino peaks on those days at just shy of 40%, which leaves plenty of machines available.
The smoking section takes up about 25% of the gaming floor, which accounted for 528 machines. The approval removes 18 of those games, bringing the total down to 510. It plans to use the rest open space to spread out current machines.
PA skill games reason for reduction
Executives of PENN Entertainment, the parent company of Hollywood properties, have not been shy in voicing its displeasure over the rise in skill games within the state. CEO Jay Snowden addressed the situation during the company’s Q2 2024 earnings call earlier this month:
“We continue to fight against what has been a rapid expansion of skill-based games in Pennsylvania through the court system. We think that we have a very strong position there.
“Our industry is very much aligned on fighting against the expansion of skill-based games, not just in Pennsylvania but around the country.”
Hollywood Director of Regional Compliance, Alex Hvizda, certainly did not back off his CEO’s stance. In late June into July, the casino collected its own data.
Within a 10-mile radius of the property, Hollywood counted more than 325 skill games across 77 locations. Three of those establishments offer more than 10 skill games.
“We believe, and submit to the Board, that this is directly affecting our business and why we’re here with this reduction today,” Hvizda said.
PGCB Chair, Denise Smyler, applauded Hollywood for its “boots on the ground work” that it did to establish the potential impact skill games are having.
Hollywood PNRC coming dangerously close to slot threshold
With the removal of 169, that brings Hollywood PNRC to 1,532 slots. As a Category 1 casino, the minimum amount of machines a property can have is 1,500.
Smyler addressed her concerns to the property during the meeting. Frabbiele said he isn’t too worried.
“We spcifically left our count at 1,532 to address that, so we can stay above the cap,” he said. “We anticipate if there’s any time [below the 1,500 threshold], it would be extremely minimal and it would be an unforeseen circumstance.
“Our anticipation of this project, working through it, is that we do not go below the 1,500 game count.”
