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Pennsylvania gamblers lost $3.25 billion in 2018; Parx Casino got the most at $603 million

Parx Casino in Bensalem once again reigned as the state’s biggest-grossing casino, reporting $603 million won from gamblers last year.

A row of slot machines on the gaming floor of Parx Casino on a Wednesday afternoon. Bensalem Township, Bucks County PA, March 14th, 2018.
A row of slot machines on the gaming floor of Parx Casino on a Wednesday afternoon. Bensalem Township, Bucks County PA, March 14th, 2018.Read moreJAMES BLOCKER / Staff Photographer

Pennsylvania’s 12 operating casinos captured a record $3.25 billion in winnings from gamblers in 2018, up $22 million or 0.7 percent from the previous year, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board reported Wednesday.

Revenue from table games like blackjack and roulette, which makes up about 27 percent of the combined gross revenue, decreased 1.3 percent last year. But revenue from slot machines, the workhorses of the casino industry that generate nearly three-quarters of revenue, increased 1.4 percent, the gaming board reported earlier this month.

Parx Casino in Bensalem once again reigned as the state’s biggest-grossing casino, reporting $603 million in revenue. It reigned again as champion in slot-machine revenue, generating $411 million in 2018, up 6 percent. The Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem reported the most revenue from table games, $222 million, down 8.7 percent.

Gross total gaming revenue grew tremendously in the six years after legalized gambling launched in Pennsylvania in 2006, surpassing $3 billion in 2011. But in the last seven years, overall growth has been more modest, growing 7 percent without adjusting for inflation.