Louisiana Casinos Down 4% To $185.6 Million In August 2011
September 16, 2011 10:04 amLouisiana’s licensed casinos consists of Harrah’s casino in New Orleans, 13 riverboat casinos and four slots operations located at horse tracks around the state.
In August, the majority of Louisiana’s gaming businesses saw a decline in their revenues, which was down overall by 4% to $185.6 million compared to the same period in 2010 of $193.4 million.
Louisiana’s August figures was also down compared to the previous month which recorded a $224.3 million take for July.
Across the board, compared to 2010, Louisiana’s only land based casino Harrah’s was down 7.4% to $24.64 million, while the state’s 13 riverboats were down 3.6% to
$129.8 million, and its four racetrack casinos experienced a revenue fall of 3% to $31.1 million in August.
In fact, so total was the state’s gaming decline that the only riverboat operations recording an increase in their winnings in August year-on-year were the Baton Rouge up 7% and Lake Charles up 2.4%. In addition, out of the slot machine race tracks across Louisiana, only the Fair Grounds at New Orleans saw its take increase by 4%.
One of the reasons put forward for the State’s lacklustre year-over-year performance was conservative spending by consumers in a shaky economy. Another factor cited as negatively affecting Louisiana’s gaming revenue was increased competition from Oklahoma Native American casinos, which were legalized in 2005.
This has been seen as drawing away customers from the lucrative Dallas market, and as Executive Director of the Louisiana Casino Association, Wade Duty explains:
“It has diverted people northward instead of eastward. It’s frightening how much Oklahoma [gaming] has grown.”
In total, the state of Louisiana collected $37.7 million in taxes from the casinos for the month of August.