Mountaineer's owner shows loss

MTR Gaming Group Inc., the owner of Mountaineer racetrack and casino and Presque Isle Downs, had a loss of $3.1 million in the first quarter of 2010, according to financial statements released on Monday, on a sharp decline in revenue compared with the first quarter of last year.

Revenue for the quarter was $91.9 million, down 8.6 percent from revenue of $100.6 million in the first quarter of last year. In a release, officials for the company cited severe winter weather in 2010 and the effects of the recession for the decline. Last year in the first quarter, MTR Gaming had a profit of $800,000.

Both Mountaineer in West Virginia and Presque Isle Downs in Pennsylvania derive the vast amount of their revenue from casino operations. For the quarter, revenue from parimutuel operations at the tracks was $1.3 million, compared with $2 million in the quarter last year.

Mountaineer trimmed its schedule this year, eliminating live racing in January and February.