The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) has given the green light to Penn Entertainment‘s plans to reshuffle its Hollywood Casino gaming area at Penn National Race Course. Facing stiff competition from the skill-based gaming sector, the company has decided to downsize its slot machine lineup.
Hollywood Casino is Cutting 169 Machines from Its Floor
To set the stage, Hollywood Casino will pull 169 slot machines from its gaming floor due to their less-than-stellar performance. Historically, the casino has struggled to hit its maximum capacity, seeing an average occupancy of roughly 20% during weekends and only peaking at 40% during prime time. It’s almost like filling a stadium with only the hardcore fans showing up.
Once the 169 machines are removed, the casino will house 1,532 slot machines. Most of these surviving machines are vintage, perfectly aligning with Hollywood Casino’s strategy to captivate players with games they know and love.
Specifically, the casino’s smoking area, which occupies about a quarter of the gaming floor, will lose 18 of its slots. This means smokers will now have a tighter selection of 510 machines to choose from. It’s akin to a high-stakes poker game where the table just got smaller.
In a move to maximize comfort and breathing space, Penn Entertainment is set to spread out the remaining machines, giving players room to breathe and enjoy their experience.
Skill Games Pose a Serious Challenge to Traditional Casinos
The mastermind behind this slot reduction? Tony Frabbiele, VP and general manager at Hollywood Casino. According to Penn Entertainment top brass, this decision is driven by the burgeoning skill-based gaming sector.
Penn Entertainment has been contending with ferocious competition from skill gaming operators, who are siphoning off a significant chunk of their clientele. As CEO Jay Snowden put it, the entire U.S. gaming industry is currently grappling with the encroachment of skill-based games.
Alex Hvizda, Hollywood Casino’s director of regional compliance, added more context to the unfolding drama: Over 325 skill games spread across 77 locations within a 10-mile radius of the casino. That’s no small potatoes; it’s a four-alarm fire in competitive terms.
Nevertheless, Penn Entertainment is bullish that keeping their slot count above 1,500 will maintain their status as a Category 1 casino, a critical threshold in this high-stakes industry.
As a sidebar, Pennsylvanian operators have been hammering the point home to the government: it’s high time skill games face proportional taxation. Currently, these games float in regulation-free waters, posing a dangerous rival to traditional casinos.
Meanwhile, Michigan has brought down the hammer, branding skill-based games as “illegal gambling” and asserting that they flout the state’s penal code.
