Mississippi casino revenue drops in 13th of 15 months
Oct. 21, 2013 10:35 PM
Written by
Jeff Amy
Associated Press
Mississippi Department of Revenue figures show statewide casino revenue fell 4.4 percent from September 2012 to $170.2 million.
The 12 coastal casinos won $88.2 million from gamblers, up 1.7 percent from $86.7 million in September 2012. The 18 river casinos from Tunica to Natchez won $82 million, down 10 percent from $91.2 millio.
The numbers exclude Choctaw Indian casinos, which don’t have to report to the state.
Revenue statewide is down about 4.5 percent over the last 12 months. After hitting nearly $2.9 billion in 2007, revenue fell 22 percent to $2.25 billion in 2012. And the take is on track to dip another $100 million in 2013, state figures show.
Revenue is dropping because fewer people are coming through the doors at the state’s 30 casinos.
The number of customers fell from 10.1 million in April, May and June 2007 to 6.4 million in the same three months of 2013, according to the state Gaming Commission.
A brief improvement in the early 2012 was followd by a downward trend resuming. Industry leaders have said casinos along the Mississippi River, Tunica and Lula have suffered from competition from expanding gambling at two racetracks in Arkansas. Some casinos have suffered financial distress, and the industry as a whole has been shedding workers.
Revenues in Arkansas rose almost six-fold from 2007 to 2012 and were 17 percent higher in July than a year earlier.
In Louisiana, state-licensed casinos won $182.2 million in September — nearly 9 percent less than a year earlier. In September 2012, a new casino opened in Baton Rouge. Year-over-year comparisons with 2013 were unfavorable with the three-casino market falling nearly 17 percent.
http://www.clarionledger.com/viewart/20131022/BIZ/310220043/Mississippi-casino-revenue-drops-13th-15-months
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