Projo Biz Blog

Foxwoods Resort Casino on Wednesday reported its net slot win rose 1.3 percent in March, to $61.6 million, when compared with March 2008.

It's the second month in a row that the casino, owned by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, registered a rise in slot machine revenues.

Foxwoods, like most other casinos around the country, saw its revenues drop in 2008 as people shied away from gambling as the economic slump deepened.

The Mashantuckets on Wednesday also reported a $15.4-million payment to Connecticut for March 2009. The contribution raises the total given to the state to more than $2.8 billion since January of 1993, when slot machines were first introduced at Foxwoods.

The health of Foxwoods and the nearby Mohegan Sun, Connecticut's two tribal-run casinos, has become part of the ongoing debate in Massachusetts and Rhode Island over fiscal policy and gambling revenues.

Rhode Island legislators are keenly aware of the state's dependence on gambling to shore up a deficit-ridden budget, while their counterparts in Massachusetts are hungry to recapture money Bay Staters lose at gambling venues in neighboring states.

 Tags  casinos Connecticut Foxwoods gambling gaming Mohegan Sun Newport Grand Rhode Island slots Twin River

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