The throngs attending the opening of Presque Isle Downs & Casino evidently came to play rather than watch, as the slots parlor's first-day revenue was among the best so far in Pennsylvania.

The thousands of gamblers streaming into the Summit Township, Erie County, racetrack/casino Wednesday put nearly $8.9 million into the 2,000 slot machines, and 91.5 percent of that went back to them as winnings, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board reported yesterday.

The gross revenue from player losses was $809,394, with 45 percent of that, $364,227, retained by Presque Isle Downs to cover costs and profit. The other $445,167 is to be allocated, under the 2004 slots legislation, to state-mandated purposes, including property tax reduction, economic development and boosts to the horse racing industry.

Compared with the three slots parlors in Eastern Pennsylvania, Presque Isle Downs took in more opening day revenue than any except Harrah's Chester Casino and Racetrack in suburban Philadelphia. Presque Isle Downs has fewer machines than Harrah's Chester, but its revenue per machine, $405, was second only to that of Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs.

While opening day numbers aren't necessarily indicators of long-term success, state gaming board spokesman Doug Harbach said of Presque Isle Downs:

"There's no doubt that they had a tremendously successful opening day. I would believe that given their market position, in that it's the only operation in the northwest [of Pennsylvania] and its close proximity to Ohio, that it's going to be able to hold very good numbers."

Presque Isle Downs spokesman John Brabender said attendance and revenue on opening day were both greater than anticipated. Part of that was the heavy presence of Ohioans, who have no similar legalized gambling in their state.

Officials had projected that Ohio residents would make up about one-fifth of customers, considering Cleveland is a little over an hour away, but Mr. Brabender said their percentage at the opening was well above that.

"That bodes well for the success of the facility, in the sense that we know people are going to come from a wide geographic region to support the facility," he said.

Another positive sign, he said, was that about half of customers were signing up for slots club membership cards, which can be used in the machines to reward frequent players with prizes.

That is also a higher proportion than is common, Mr. Brabender said, "meaning a higher percentage here expect to return."

The casino had a drop-off in attendance yesterday, which Mr. Brabender said was expected since many more people came Wednesday than is typical of a weekday because of the opening day novelty.