North Las Vegas casino reports jump in revenue

Wednesday, May 1, 2002 | 11:17 a.m.

SUN STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

MTR Gaming Group Inc., owner of the Speedway casino in North Las Vegas, on Tuesday reported a first quarter profit of $5 million or 17 cents per share vs. $4.3 million or 17 cents in the year-ago quarter.

The Chester, W.Va., company said revenue at the North Las Vegas casino was up 25 percent to $2.4 million from the first quarter of last year. And for the second consecutive quarter, the Speedway produced positive cash flow, generating $274,000 in the quarter.

Separately, MTR's Mountaineer Race Track & Gaming Resort in West Virginia has invested $120 million on expansion projects in the past two years and shows no signs of slowing down.

On Tuesday the track won approval for yet another expansion, the addition of 500 slot machines to its maze of interconnected, cavernous casino rooms.

Using its standard test for expansion requests, the state Lottery Commission ruled the extra machines would be "in the best interest of the track, the commission and the citizens of West Virginia."

Mountaineer already has approval for 2,500 machines and operates nearly that many in dark, glitzy gambling rooms attached to the hotel and in smaller, simpler rooms at the grandstand building next to the thoroughbred track.

At a public hearing Tuesday on the expansion, Weirton residents John and Helen Bright urged the Lottery Commission to approve the additional machines, complaining there are too few to accommodate large weekend crowds.

"And if they apply for the roulette table, blackjack ... I'm all for it," Helen Bright said to laughter and applause from about a dozen track supporters.

No one spoke against the expansion, which Hancock County officials also endorsed.

"As Mountaineer grows, tourism grows and so our communities grow," Melisa Muhlenthaler of the county's Convention & Visitors Bureau said.

The additional machines, which would be housed in a new 8,000-square-foot area, are part of a long-term plan to provide gamblers with a better product and make Mountaineer a "destination resort," track President Ted Arneault said.

The new machines will not only satisfy more of the weekend demand but also help boost weekday business, he added.

The casino, which gets top billing at Mountaineer, features several bars, an elevated stage for musicians and an all-day buffet in a 1920s speakeasy theme. Shuttles run from there to the horse track and clubhouse every half-hour.

Among the $120 million worth of improvements is a 260-room hotel that opens this week with marble floors, an elegant, wood-paneled bar and guest rooms more lavish than those in the current hotel.

Although the hotel remained off-limits Tuesday, clerks at the front desk were offering guests the new rooms for $105 on weeknights, starting today.

"What you've done here is good for the county and good for the state of West Virginia," said commission Chairman Virgil Thompson, who toured the property before the vote. "It's impressive."

Construction of a 27,900-square-foot convention center wrapped up in August. It is now the second-largest conference and meeting facility in West Virginia, behind The Greenbrier.

Mountaineer also has a white steel entertainment complex dubbed "The Harv" -- short for The Harvey E. Arneault Memorial Theatre & Event Center -- for concerts, festivals and live professional boxing.

A similar tentlike structure houses the 12,000-square-foot spa and fitness center.

Although the temporary buildings are designed to last, they could be dismantled and replaced if Mountaineer and its parent, MTR Gaming Inc., later decide to upgrade.

When the hotel is fully operational and the new machines are in place this summer, Mountaineer will have some 1,750 employees, Arneault said.

That makes the track one of the largest employers in the Northern Panhandle, behind Weirton Steel Corp. and Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corp.

Video lottery sales at the state's four racetracks totaled $56.9 million for the month ending March 31, lottery officials said. That's a $15.1 million increase over the same period last year and an all-time monthly high for the state.