Mississippi Casinos Fall 4.4% To $170m In September

The Mississippi Gaming Commission has released its casino results for September, revealing a 4.4% fall in revenue to $170.2 million compared to $177.9 million taken in the same month in 2012.
Breaking the figures down further, the 12 coastal casinos generated $88.2 million in revenue, up 1.7% over last September’s tally of $86.7 million. However, the 18 river casinos saw their revenues plummet by 10% to $82 million compared to the $91.2 million reported last year.
Mississippi’s latest results mean the state’s casinos have now seen their revenues decline in 13 out of the past 15 months, further highlighting the challenges facing The Magnolia State’s ailing gambling industry. Back in 2007, Mississippi casino revenue hit $2.9 billion, but by 2012 had declined by 22% to $2.25 billion, with 2013 on track to shed at least another $100 million from that tally.
At the heart of the problem are fewer visitors to the state’s 30 casinos, which in the second quarter of 2007 reached 10.1 million customers, before falling to 6.4 million by the same quarter of 2013. This has been as a result of increased competition from neighbouring states such as Louisiana, which in September reported a 9% increase  in casino revenue to $182.2 million, and Arkansas, which from 2007 to 2012 has seen its revenues soar by almost six-times.
Commenting on the worrying state of Mississippi’s declining casino industry, Allen Godfrey from the Gaming Commission said: “People are more cautious with their money now. They just stopped coming. And we have to come up with the amenities to bring them back.”