Casino consultants discuss lofty revenue estimates for Suffolk Downs proposal

BOSTON (MyFoxBoston.com) -- The casino proposal for Suffolk Downs is massive, but some question whether or not it is a $1 billion a year design.

Some claim the casino would have to be the most successful in the U.S. in order to churn out those kinds of numbers.

Suffolk Downs CEO Chip Tuttle tells FOX 25 the East Boston casino proposal has the potential to may more than $1 billion a year in gambling revenue alone in three to four years. The city of Boston stands to make more than $32 million a year under the host community agreement.

Analysts believe those figures could bring the city $52 annually if the casino hits the billion dollar mark.

"Independent analysts have sized this market between $800 million and $1.1 billion," said Tuttle. "We're comfortable with those projections, understanding this would make it one of the highest grossing markets in the country."

FOX 25 spoke with two casino industry consultants and researchers via Skype about the projection.

"It's very safe to say that Boston is in excess of a billion dollar market," said Frank Fantini. "Having said that, no one casino in America does a billion dollars a year."

In order to hit that billion dollar mark, analysts believe Suffolk Downs would have to generate more gaming revenue than any casino in the country. They believe a realistic goal is $600 to $800 million.

Most of a casino's gaming revenue comes from slot machines. The Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection reports Foxwoods made $542 million in slot revenue and Mohegan Sun made $629 million in the last fiscal year. Those figures do not include gaming tables.

Experts say there was a time when both Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods were doing well over $1 billion in gaming each, but at the moment there are no properties in North America hitting that mark.

Cox Media Group