Casinos in Pennsylvania have had to deal with multiple challenges for the last few years. They were first impacted by lockdowns in 2020. In 2021, they faced a serious worker shortage which is still a problem to date. Currently, the casinos are struggling with a heavily disrupted supply chain.
The problem has left casinos in PA seeking solutions to delayed delivery of slot machines. Most of the casinos have restaurants and hotel facilities, and they too are affected by the supply of food.
Delayed supply of slot machines
The bigger chunk of customers in Pennsylvania casinos is the locals. These are customers who drive to the casino to place bets and then drive home. The rising cost of gas due to inflation is changing customer behavior. More customers would prefer to visit a local casino that has a hotel and spend a night there than to drive hundreds of miles to another state. Due to this, Pennsylvania casinos are not getting customers from other states as compared to a few years ago.
The current supply chain situation is not only affecting visitors to casinos but also the supply of slot machines. The slot machines are mainly manufactured abroad and delivered to the casinos that order them. Inflation is making the cost of currency exchange higher.
The manufacturers need to import raw materials. All these effects combined are making the situation worse. It’s causing further delays in the delivery of the machines and spare parts. Delayed deliveries mean the casinos will miss the business that the machines would have brought.
The rising cost of food
Inflation has affected the cost of food and disrupted the supply chains. The casinos order raw food like vegetables, fruits, eggs, and milk from local farmers. Other food products like cereals, flour, cooking oil, and bread are supplied by local stores. Their prices keep increasing often, forcing casino restaurants to increase food prices often, too, at least to make some money. The frequent fluctuations are impacting negatively on the casinos.
A drop in slot play
The casinos in PA are already experiencing a significant drop in slot play. Parx Casino CMO Marc Oppenheimer was recently interviewed by Tino Magnatta, the Casino Update host. Marc said that Parx’s business was at its peak this time last year. He added that this year is different because Parx Casino is already experiencing the impact of inflation.
The casino hasn’t recorded a drop in visitors per se but a drop in slot play. Parx had recorded a slowdown of slot revenue by between 5 to 7 percent and a decline in player spending by 20 to 25 percent per trip.