Because people are keeping their quarters and not dropping them in slot machines, the state will likely take another big budget hit -- $50 million it was counting on from the casinos.
When people play the slots at Foxwoods Resort Casino and Mohegan Sun, the state gets 25 percent of the revenues. But, the problem is that fewer people are playing, so by the end of the fiscal year, which ends on June 30, 2010, the state may find itself $50 million shy from declining slot revenue.
The state had apparently not budgeted for gamblers’ frugality because officials planned for a 1 percent increase in slot machine revenue this year and a 3 percent increase next year in the current two-year, $38 billion budget.
But, in August, both casinos reported slot revenue declines of more than 10 percent, presenting a budgetary conundrum.
The $50 million hit comes in addition to the $500 million deficit Comptroller Nancy Wyman is predicting for the year.
