OXFORD, Maine — Six months after opening its doors, the Oxford Casino has taken in more than $30 million in net revenues from slot machines and table games. However, plans for future expansion are still up in the air.
General Manager and Vice President Jack Sours said there are no immediate plans to build out the planned future phases, but, “There’s a lot of interest in the ownership group to expand the facility,” he said Monday. “That’s always being looked at.”
Casino spokesman Scott Smith stressed that only six months have passed since the casino opened.
Sours said the casino, which has a customer base largely within an hour’s drive, serves a “day-trip market” at this time. “We’d like to expand our footprint so that we’re an overnight market,” he said.
“I think what needs to be discussed is, ‘Is there a hotel in our future?’” Sours said.
The casino was already working on a gaming floor expansion when it opened in June. That expansion was up and running in September, bumping the number of slot machines from 529 to 819, according to the Maine Gambling Control Board. The number of table games increased from 12 to 22.
Before Maine voters decided on the casino, developers promoted a three-stage plan to be built over five years. Later additions include a parking garage and a 200-room hotel, if the market allows for it.
So far, the casino expansion hasn’t led to higher slot machine revenues. Although the casino had its best month so far in September with more than $4.7 million in slot revenues, November was one of its slowest at $4.2 million, according to figures from the Maine Gambling Control Board.
Table games have fared better, rising nearly every month since the casino opened to peak at $1.16 million in November.
Sours said that the Oxford Casino also has to be careful of too many casinos as gaming makes its way to new places. In 2011, Massachusetts passed a law allowing up to three casinos. New Hampshire is discussing allowing casinos as well.
“From an industry standpoint, we have to be concerned about over-saturation,” Sours said. He pointed to Atlantic City, where an increase in East Coast casinos has dried up traffic to the casino town, and some casinos are on the brink of closing.
Sours said Massachusetts casinos “will certainly overlap with our market,” but said at least 80 percent of customers are from Maine and customers from Massachusetts constitute a small portion of the customer base.
The casino is employing about 420 full-time workers, with another 20 openings for full-time positions.
Sours said nearly all positions are full time, with part-time jobs going to people who specifically request them.
“It’s not our business model to have a bunch of part-time positions,” Smith said.
The casino has passed on nearly $13 million in taxes to education, local government and other funds. It pays out 46 percent of slot machine revenue and 16 percent of table games revenue.
Oxford County, which receives 1 percent of casino revenues, recently approved buying 10 replacement cruisers for the Sheriff’s Office using the funds. Oxford, which gets 2 percent, has offset property taxes and begun infrastructure improvements.
“That’s a lot of money going back to the state of Maine,” Sours said. “The state really is our partner.”
Nothing like a casino in the same bed as the state. Hey? Hollywood Casinos has had their share, time for competition…….I’m happy for the mid Maine area and upset about the negative campaigning brought forth by the folks at Hollywood. To the Bangor folks: ” sometimes your the windshield, sometimes your the bug…” live with it. All said, it’s some sort of moral issue to the state; yet the state has had absolutely no problem running it’s own gambling scheme: scratch ticket, megabucks, et al……..they wouldn’t even allow the Indian nations to have high stakes bingo…..but, once money talks. The bottom line is this: ANY casino is in business to take your money, and why not? the state’s been in gambling business for years now, these guys just have to pay for the privilege of doing so and cut in the state.
You’re = you are. You’re welcome.
racist democrats have no time for grammer and rational thought, they’re too busy ‘teaching’ our kids to be functional illiterates
What do racist democrats have to do with casinos, Mr. Limbaugh???
So now all teachers are functional illiterates………? I guess the teacher who taught you is the same? Nice. You have proven your point.
If you knew anything at all about lyrics, “Sometimes your the windshield…..” is a quote from a song . And lyrics fit the song, not grammar rules. You’re (you are) very presumptive and not very attentive to any detail other than your own agenda. Your is a common way to lyric,
light bulb meet head ….hit me
Math from the cited figures. Oxford Co 1 %. Oxford 2 %. 46 % from slots 16 % from tables. 43 % & 13 % to the state for doing nothing? Cut me in!!!
Casinos thrive on disposable income. Something Mainers have very little of these days. After the initial novelty wears off, they will see a steady decline in revenues.
aka how everything works.
Is that why waterfront concerts do so well……..or movie theaters?………or restaurants?……..or ski areas?
It’s all the same shrinking pie Joe. Casinos just cause everyone else to get a smaller slice. We need businesses that cause the pie to get bigger, not the slices get smaller. They are here to siphon money off of our local economy, not add to the flow.
Jobs are not returning from China.
P.S. – I hope that you feel the same way about McDonald’s, Wal-Mart, Dunkin Donuts, etc, etc as well.
Oh no…don’t get him started on walmart again. :D
Ah, the solution to Maine’s financial ills. Why not just set up some store fronts, line up a row of garbage cans for people to throw their money into and call them casinos. Every once in a while, give out a “prize” of $100 or $1000 just so people will think they have a chance at hitting it big. Let the state run them, that way all profits can solve the budget shortfalls (let’s see, you cut taxes, but don’t cut spending, and can’t understand WHY there’s a budget shortfall…duh).
We already do that and it is state owned. It’s called a scratch off ticket and Maine spends more money advertising and marketing their product then Hollywood, Oxford, and Indian island combined times 10. Augusta has always preyed on the under educated in Maine.
“Under-educated”??? Why do pompous people like you ALWAYS assume that gamblers are “under-educated”??? I resent that description of me.
Ok – you convinced me –
Augusta has always preyed on the stupid in Maine.
New taxes are politically tough sells – voluntary taxes, much better.
Or…….why not let people spend their money the way that they want to? How do you spend YOUR money????? Please tell me because I’d like to criticize you.
LOL…says the Yankee that has been playing the same megabucks number since the mid 80s
can it with your anti-American, pro-slavery filth
…But, Baldacci said, “gambling was not for Maine and that it would bring more crime to Maine!”
it will
It won’t. Its been open for 6 months and I have heard of no issues with crime. Its all a scare tactic from the haters
No mention of how much they paid out to winners?
They have to pay out a certain % to customers by law. Everyone knows this.
Obviously not everyone knows that…because I didn’t know that. What is the percentage?
haven’t people learned by now?
The house always wins.
Haven’t naysayers like you learned by now…….
1. It’s NOT your money!
2. Many people gamble as a form of entertainment……..like hunting (bullets cost money), snowmobiling (gas costs money), concerts/movies (you pay to see an event for 2 hours but will NEVER get your money back), restaurants (talk about eating your money!), etc, etc
gotta wonder how much of this revenue is coming out of some unaware elderly persons annuity or social security check
Or coming out of someone’s wallet voluntarily as they look for an entertainment option in a state where entertainment options are few and far between…………
It would be nice to be able to track exactly the source where all the money is coming from! Just sayin’
It would be nice to be able track where YOU spend all of your money. That would be interesting, huh?
I use it on pron .. see
Just sayin’ it would be nice to know if, my tax money, Being redistributed for child care, winds up in a casino pocket! Just sayin….
and we wonder why we have a tyrannical out of control government?
good god man, why don’t you just advocate for bar codes on the kids