Cincinnati racino off to slow start in first year

CINCINNATI (AP) — Officials with the year-old race track and casino facility in eastern Cincinnati said they are disappointed with its revenues, which accounted for the smallest slice of Ohio’s $1.5 billion gambling market.

Belterra Park Gaming has averaged $4.6 million in revenue each month, but officials hoped those figures would reach at least $7.5 million, The Cincinnati Enquirer reported.

Pinnacle executives, who own other properties, said last month that the Belterra facility only started approaching profitability in 2015. It has brought in $55.2 million in the past year. The Miami Valley Gaming racino, north of Cincinnati, raked in $121.1 million over the same period.

The lagging profits keep a cap on jobs at the facility and could stall plans for a hotel that was set to be the next phase of development.