When Connecticut's two casinos opened in the early 90s, they did so by reaching an agreement with the State of Connecticut to pay the state 25 percent of their monthly slot revenues.

The slot machine agreements (memoranda of understanding) between the state and the Mashantucket Pequots and Mohegans do not contain any amendment or modification clause. The agreements give the tribes the exclusive right to operate slot machines. In return, each tribe must contribute 25% of gross slot machine revenue to the state monthly. Both Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods have recorded a 12% decrease in slot revenue in April. This makes it the tenth consecutive month in decline for the two Connecticut tribal casinos. The year-over-year report shows April 2019 as the worst month for slot machine revenue in both casinos. The slots revenue after paying prizes went from.

As a result, both Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods must report their total slot earnings to the state each month. In December 2010, Foxwoods earned $45 million on its slot machines, an increase of 1.2 percent over December 2009.

Mohegan Sun took in $53.5 million dollars in December slot revenue. That's a 6 percent decline over December 2009, according to The Day of New London.

Local

In reporting its numbers, Mohegan Sun actually revealed some interesting information some gamblers might want to pay attention to.

Connecticut Slot Machine Revenue Collector

Overall in December, $673,412,991 went through Mohegan's slot machines. It's a staggering number, referred to as the handle, by casinos. But Mohegan Sun only kept 7.94 percent of that total amount. That means more than 92 percent went back to gamblers.

What may be even more valuable information to the millions of people who drop dollars into those ringing, buzzing and screeching machines is that Mohegan Sun also breaks down which machines actually give gamblers the best odds at winning.

The casino has 6,404 slot machines scattered throughout it's sprawling gaming floors, and as most gamblers know, you can toss your money into those machines in many different denominations. But what the casino's December numbers show is that some of the 'cheapest' slot machines, actually have the worst odds for patrons.

For example, Mohegan Sun kept 11 percent of all of the money that went into its penny slot machines, with 89 percent returned to the players. That must be why the casino has more penny slots, 2,532 machines, than any other type. Not surprisingly, the majority of Mohegan Sun's slot revenue comes from these penny slots. Nickel slot machines took 12 percent, and give back 88 percent in December.

On the other side of the scale, the casino's $2 slots kept just 2.03 percent of the money that went in, giving back just under 98 percent to gamblers. The best deal for players, if you can afford it, was the casino's $10 slot machines, which kept a minuscule 1.77 percent of the money put into them, returning 99.23 percent to those spending their hard-earned cash.

In the middle were the casino's quarter slots, which returned more than 91 percent of the money put in back to patrons, and the $1 machines gave back more than 93 percent to gamblers.

But for those who want to play those machines, their best bet may be to play Mohegan Sun's multi-denomination slots. Those are machines on which a player can choose to bet in different amounts. In December, they returned 95 percent of the money that went into them. So gamblers had better odds dumping quarters into a multi-denomination machine, than playing those same coins on the quarter slots.

Legal forms of gambling in the U.S. state of Connecticut include two Indian casinos (Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun), parimutuel wagering, charitable gaming, and the Connecticut Lottery.

Casinos[edit]

Connecticut has two Indian casinos, Foxwoods Resort Casino in Ledyard and Mohegan Sun in Uncasville. They are operated on tribal lands under the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act by the state's two federally recognized tribes, the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe and the Mohegan Tribe, respectively. A third casino, to be jointly owned by the two tribes, is planned in East Windsor, but has been held up by legal proceedings.^[1]

The tribes pay 25 percent of their slot machine revenue to the state, in exchange for the state maintaining its prohibition on the machines outside of the two casinos.^[2] As of the 2016-17 fiscal year, the two casinos had a total annual slot handle of $13.2 billion, with winnings of $1.1 billion.^[3]^[4]

Tribal gaming began in 1986 with the opening of a high-stakes bingo parlor on the Mashantucket Pequot reservation, after a court ruled that state bingo regulations did not apply on the tribe's sovereign land.^[5] The operation expanded to include table games in 1992, and slot machines in 1993.^[6]^[7] The Mohegan Tribe, having gained federal recognition in 1992, opened its casino in 1996.^[8]

Parimutuel wagering[edit]

Parimutuel wagering on horse racing, greyhound racing, and jai alai is offered at sixteen off-track betting (OTB) parlors around the state operated by Sportech, and also at the two tribal casinos.^[9]^[10] The Sportech operation had a total annual handle of $168 million as of 2015, with $125 million paid out for winning bets.^[11] Two greyhound tracks and three jai alai frontons have previously operated in Connecticut.

Connecticut Slot Machine Revenue Recognition

Horse racing and off-track betting were legalized in 1971.^[12] Jai alai and dog racing were added the following year.^[12] A horse track named Connecticut Park was proposed to be built in Wolcott, but was canceled in the late 1970s after failing to gain state approvals.^[13] The state's OTB operation opened for business in 1976.^[14] Jai alai frontons opened in Hartford and Bridgeport in 1976, and in Milford in 1977.^[12] The Bridgeport and Hartford frontons closed in 1995, and the Milford fronton followed in 2001.^[12]Plainfield Greyhound Park operated from 1976 to 2005 in Plainfield; Shoreline Star Greyhound Park opened at the former jai alai fronton in Bridgeport in 1996, and closed in 2005.^[15]^[16]

Charitable gaming[edit]

Eligible non-profit organizations are permitted to conduct several games of chance for fundraising purposes, including bingo, raffles, carnival games (referred to as bazaars) and pull-tabs (referred to as sealed tickets).^[17] As of 2015, charitable games in the state had total gross annual revenues of $32.7 million, with the organizations making a profit of $10.6 million.^[18]

The law allowing charitable bingo was enacted in 1939.^[19] It was expanded to allow bazaars and raffles in 1955, and sealed tickets in 1987.^[19] Las Vegas nights, featuring casino games like blackjack and roulette, were legalized in 1972, but this was repealed in 2003 in an effort to block the opening of more tribal casinos in the state.^[20]

Lottery[edit]

The Connecticut Lottery offers scratchcard games and draw games, including the multi-state Powerball and Mega Millions games. As of 2015, the lottery had annual gross sales of $1.1 billion, with $707 million paid out as prizes.^[21]

The legislature authorized the lottery in 1971, as part of the same bill that legalized parimutuel wagering.^[22] Lottery sales began in 1972.^[22]

Connecticut Slot Machine Revenue Calculator

References[edit]

^Christopher Keating (December 12, 2018). 'Lawmakers will make new push to complete East Windsor casino'. Hartford Courant. Retrieved 2019-01-03.
^Christopher Keating (February 7, 2015). 'Tribes: Plans to expand slots would invalidate revenue deal'. Hartford Courant. Retrieved 2017-09-04.
^Foxwoods Casino: Schedule of Selected Video Facsimile/Slot Machine Data(PDF) (Report). Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection. Retrieved 2017-09-04.
^Mohegan