Sands Ends Year with Record-Setting Month

The closed out 2011 by once again setting a monthly table games revenue record for Pennsylvania casinos in December, the state Gaming Control Board reported on Wednesday.

The Sands grossed $11.7 million in revenue from table games last month, shattering the Bethlehem casino’s previous record of nearly $10.8 million in table games revenue in August.

Combined with slots revenue of $23.4 million, the Sands brought in more than $35 million in revenue in December alone. The casino’s total revenue for the year was $377 million.

In December, Sands table revenues alone netted the state $1.6 million in tax revenue and $234,000 in local share taxes.

Casinos across the state earned nearly $56 million in table games revenue in December. That helped push the Pennsylvania gaming industry past $3 billion in annual earnings for the first time, a 22 percent increase in revenues over 2010.

The state netted $1.4 billion in tax revenue from gaming in 2011.