Slot-machine revenues fell last month at Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods Resort Casino, tumbling by 8.8 and 5.2 percent, respectively, compared with September 2017.

What does it say about MGM Springfield's impact?

"It's way too early to draw any conclusions," Ray Pineault, president and general manager of Mohegan Sun, said Monday. "From a property perspective, we're not at all disappointed with our month."

September was MGM Springfield's first full month of operation. The nearly $1 billion resort casino, Massachusetts' first, sits just north of the Connecticut border. The Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes, respective owners of Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun, hope to build an East Windsor casino to protect their existing revenues from the new out-of-state competitor.

When a new casino opens, people are going to try it out, Pineault said, but they might just visit "once or twice, or five times a year," and then return to the place they originally patronized.

"You need to have a longer view," Pineault said.

Mohegan Sun reported Monday that it "won," or kept, $47.2 million in slots wagers after paying out prizes last month, down from the $51.8 million it kept the same month a year ago. Foxwoods kept $38 million last month, down from $40.1 million the same month last year.

The Massachusetts Gaming Commission released figures showing MGM Springfield kept $18.1 million in slots revenue in September, after keeping $7.3 million during the last eight days of August. The casino opened Aug. 24.

"We are pleased with the solid visitor volume we experienced in September, our first full month of operations, Mike Mathis, president and chief operating officer of MGM Springfield, said in a statement. "Our hotel and restaurants continue to reflect impressive numbers of guests eager to experience what our new resort has to offer. Visitors from across the region are responding well to the breadth of our overall entertainment strategy. Our financial performance is on track with our expectations ..."

MGM Springfield’s September numbers suggest traffic at the casino leveled off in September following the casino's well-attended debut and its aftermath in August.

“The excitement of any grand opening drives a tremendous amount of business,” Pineault said. “Then you expect to settle into a comfortable level.”

Mohegan Sun's slots "handle" — the total amount gamblers wager before prizes are paid out — fell 10.3 percent last month to $585.4 million. Foxwoods' handle was down 5.7 percent to $498.8 million.

Mohegan Sun forwarded $11.8 million of its September slots win to the state, while Foxwoods contributed $9.8 million.

b.hallenbeck@theday.com