Dover Downs Gaming & Entertainment cut 48 jobs – most of them through attrition – during the second quarter of this year while also posting about $630,000 in profit.
The casino has eliminated 72 jobs total this year after similar layoffs in the first quarter.
In an earnings call to shareholders today, Dover Downs president and CEO Denis McGlynn says those layoffs wouldn’t have happened if state lawmakers had adopted an aid package for the casino, as they did in 2013 and 2014.
“We can demonstrate that we can do well. The problem is the state just takes so much out of us at the end of the day it makes it all for nothing,” McGlynn said.
That bailout would’ve cost taxpayers up to $45.8 million annually when fully implemented. It would have reduced the table game tax rate for Delaware’s three casinos and offered marketing tax credits.
The inaction was due to a tough budget year – something McGlynn notes is also projected for the next budget cycle.
“This fiscal issue does get in the way, and obviously, if there’s going to be a reduction in what they’re taking from the casinos, they have to be able to be comfortable that it’s not going to create a hole somewhere else that they can’t fix.”
As part of today's earnings announcement, Dover Downs also says their gaming revenue dropped by about $1.2 million from the second quarter last year.
Hotel and other retail revenue increased slightly. The casino's total operating expenses also dropped.
By the end of the day, Dover Downs's stock was trading up 3.26 percent at about 92 cents per share.
