Mississippi Casino Revenue Drops 32% To $137 Million In May 2011

The recent flooding in Mississippi has played havoc with the state’s casino revenue figures, which recorded a 32.4% drop to $137.2 million in May 2011, compared to $203.1 million a year earlier.
Worst affected by the Mississippi River flooding were the Riverfront casinos, with 17 of the state’s 19 riverfront resorts forced to shut from late April until just recently. 
Consequently, these Tunica casinos saw their revenue plummet by a massive 60% to $41 million in May compared to $107.8 million in the same period last year.
On the other hand, the 11 Gulf Coast casinos unaffected by the high waters collected $96.2 million in revenue for May, not far off the $95.2 million generated in May 2010.
Striking an optimistic note on May’s revenue figures, deputy director of the Mississippi Gaming Commission Allen Godfrey commented:
“When we shut the casinos down, we felt like they were going to be shut down for all of May, so having any revenue is a positive thing. It could’ve been no revenue. The Gulf Coast was up a little. Had it not been for the flood, we might have had a very good month.”
The Mississippi floods could hardly have come at a worse time for the casinos, whose industry has been ailing badly since the country was hit with the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.
Adding to Mississippi’s casino woes are a drop in consumers’ leisure and travel spending, high gasoline prices and a fall in the number of lucrative businesses conventions.
Furthermore, the state’s gaming revenues for June will also be greatly affected as
several resorts in Greenville, Vicksburg and Natchez have only re-opened  recently.