expenses in light of revenue declines due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. The following paragraphs provide further detail regarding certain operating expenses.
Purse expense increased $304,000, or 14.6%, for the three months ended September 30, 2020 compared to the same period in 2019. The increase is due to a substantial increase in out of state wagering, partially offset by decreases in simulcast, live racing, and Card Casino revenues. Purse expense decreased $1,347,000, or 24.8%, for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 compared to the same period in 2019. The decrease is due to a reduction in Pari-Mutuel and Card Casino revenues.
Salaries and benefits decreased $1,698,000, or 23.8%, and $6,908,000, or 34.8%, for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020, compared to the same periods in 2019. The decreases are due primarily to the COVID-19 Pandemic, which resulted in the majority of Company employees being placed on an unpaid furlough during the temporary suspension of operations. Labor costs have also significantly declined upon reopening in June due to the Company’s limited operations requiring significantly reduced number of personnel. Additionally, labor costs were unusually high as a percentage of revenues in 2019 as a result of inefficiencies caused by the Card Casino construction in January and February and re-opening in March 2019.
Cost of food and beverage sales decreased $1,146,000 or 72.9%, and $2,338,000, or 68.8%, for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020, compared to the same periods in 2019. The decreases are due to lower food and beverage revenues due to decreased attendance, primarily due to capacity limitations mandated across the Company’s operations as a result of the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Advertising and marketing decreased $839,000 or 88.5%, and $1,564,000, or 82.5%, for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2020, compared to the same periods in 2019. The decreases are due to a reduction in advertising and marketing spend due to capacity limitations mandated across the Company’s operations as a result of the COVID-19 Pandemic.
During the nine months ended September 30, 2019, the Company recorded a loss on disposal of assets totaling $114,000. This primarily related to a write-off of assets disposed of in remodeling our Card Casino. Also, during the same period, the Company recorded a gain on insurance recoveries of $199,000 as a result of insurance proceeds related to flood damage incurred at the Racetrack.
During the 2020 third quarter, the Company recorded a gain on transfer of land of $2,275,000 as a result of transferring land to the Doran Canterbury II and Canterbury DBSV joint ventures.
Net income for the three months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019 $1,849,000 and $1,150,000, respectively. Net income for the nine months ended September 30, 2020 and 2019 was $923,000 and $2,165,000, respectively.
EBITDA
To supplement our financial statements, we also provide investors with information about our EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA, each of which is a non-GAAP measure, which excludes certain items from net income (loss), a GAAP measure. We define EBITDA as earnings before interest, income tax (benefit) expense, and depreciation and amortization. We define Adjusted EBITDA as earnings before interest income, income tax (benefit) expense, depreciation and amortization, as well as excluding gain on transfer of land, gain on insurance recoveries, and loss from disposal of assets. Neither EBITDA nor adjusted EBITDA is a measure of performance calculated in accordance with GAAP and should not be considered an alternative to, or more meaningful than, net income as an indicator of our operating performance. EBITDA is presented as a supplemental disclosure because it is a widely used measure of performance and a basis for valuation of companies in our industry. Moreover, other companies that provide EBITDA information may calculate EBITDA differently than we do. Adjusted EBITDA reflects additional adjustments to EBITDA to eliminate unusual items and we believe the exclusion of these items allows for better comparability of our performance between periods.