Cecil County Slots $ Up in Feb.; Local Aid Totals $2.4 Million So Far

March 7, 2011
By

The Hollywood Casino in Perryville saw increased per-machine slots revenues last month, resulting in a total of $2.4 million in “local impact” aid for Cecil County and the Town of Perryville in the current fiscal year.

The Perryville slots parlor has generated a total of over $44 million in revenues, including $14.6 million in revenues for Penn National Gaming, the slots parlor operator, since the facility opened at the end of last September.

As provided by the referendum that legalized slots in the state, part of the total revenues goes to an education trust fund, the horseracing industry, various set-asides and local communities impacted by the two slots parlors currently operating in the state. The Perryville facility was the first in the state and the second facility, at Ocean Downs near Ocean City, opened in January, 2011.

The February numbers showed a gain in per-machine daily revenues in Cecil County, registering nearly $215. Overall, the per-machine daily revenue average for Perryville is nearly $191 since the casino opened last fall.

In February, Hollywood Casino generated $496,177 in local impact aid for the county and town. Under an agreement between the county and Perryville, the county will receive 65 percent of the local impact aid and the town will get 35 percent.

However, as the money accumulates, neither the county nor the town of Perryville has yet to spend a cent since officials have not yet ratified a plan for how to spend the money under provisions of state law. A Local Development Council is still reviewing proposals, including a tentative but not yet ratified list of priorities from the Cecil County Commissioners, to establish how the money will be spent. However, the county has indicated its preferences are primarily for road paving and traffic improvements in the area near the casino.

The town has been increasingly impatient with the county on the disbursement of the impact aid, citing its position as the “first responder” on police and public safety calls and the need to hire two additional town police officers to respond to calls for service from the casino.

While the county and town split the local impact aid in the current fiscal year, in the upcoming 2012 fiscal year that begins July 1, they will have to yield about $1 million a year off the top of their aid to Baltimore City and Prince George’s County under provisions of the legislation that legalized slots.

(See link to state Lottery Commission chart here:

http://slots.mdlottery.com/maryland-casinos-generate-more-than-12-million-in-revenue-during-february/

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