Don't count on casino owners to be jolly this holiday season.
With gamblers focused on holiday preparations and often wary about the weather, December is one of the slowest months for casinos. It's no exception at Presque Isle Downs & Casino.
"It's pretty tough to compete with Santa Claus,'' said Mike Tamburelli, vice president and general manager of the Erie casino.
But though the first three weeks of December are relatively slow, business picks up in the period between Christmas Day and New Year's Eve, said Richard McGarvey, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, which regulates the state's 11 casinos.
During that week between the holidays, many people take vacations, friends and relatives visit, and casinos hold special events, said Doug Harbach, another spokesman for the gaming board.
For instance, in 2011, in the week before Christmas, gamblers at Presque Isle Downs wagered $31.5 million on 2,070 slot machines, the gaming board reported.
But they bet a whopping $49.8 million in the week of Dec. 26-Jan. 1.
For all of December 2011, gamblers wagered $167.4 million on the slot machines. Compare that to July 2011, one of the busiest months, when gamblers put $205.6 million into the machines.
Tamburelli said the casino had a strong first weekend of December, though it's too early to say how the rest of the month will play out.
But the casino is trying to attract gamblers during the preholiday rush with offers of free slots play, other promotions and entertainment, he said.
Tickets for entertainer Lainie Kazan's Dec. 21 show, with comedian Sal Richards opening, sold out quickly.
And the casino has booked Jason D. Williams, who's reminiscent of Jerry Lee Lewis, to play on New Year's Eve.
The casino faces a potentially slow December after months of declining slot-machine revenue due, in part, to competition from the new Horseshoe Casino Cleveland, which opened May 14.
But there are signs that the gap in slot-machine revenue could tighten.
Presque Isle Downs' gross revenue on slot machines was $10.4 million in November, compared to $13.15 million for Horseshoe Casino Cleveland.
The Cleveland casino's slot-machine revenue was $18.5 million in June, its first full month of operation, and the revenue has sloped downward since then before leveling out between October and November.
Presque Isle Downs' slot-machine revenue was $12.5 million in June, and jumped to $13.6 million in July before trending downward.
However, gamblers have bet more on slot machines in recent months at Presque Isle Downs than at the Cleveland casino.
In November, they bet $140.2 million at the Erie casino and $133.6 million at the Cleveland casino.
Revenue at Cleveland's casino has been greater due to a higher payout rate at Erie's casino, though Cleveland's payout rate has gradually climbed.
Cleveland's casino, however, has far outpaced Erie's casino in gross revenue from table games play.
In October, the latest month for which comparisons are available, the revenue at Presque Isle Downs was slightly more than $1.1 million from its 53 table games, compared to $7.7 million at the Cleveland casino's then-95 table games.
Cleveland now has 117 table games, according to the Ohio Casino Control Commission.
JOHN GUERRIERO can be reached at 870-1690 or by e-mail. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/ETNguerriero.
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