This is hardly breaking news to anyone who reads this blog regularly, but gambling revenues are down nationwide. This Economix piece in the New York Times blogs is as good a summary as any: Two weeks ago, my colleague Ian Urbina had an article about the falloff in gambling across the country, and the lower […]
Nat’l decline in gaming taxes Read More »
news about gamblingI’m full of good cheer over at the Las Vegas Business Press, where I start by looking at where the employment numbers are now and where they seem to be heading: In July 2007, perhaps the high-water mark of the 2004-07 boom, more than 1.2 million Nevadans were working; slightly less than 27 percent of
At the LVBP: The casino cavalry Read More »
news about gamblingFor those of you in Las Vegas, I’m (probably) going to be on KVVU-Fox 5 news at 5 this afternoon, commenting on a new Time magazine cover story about “Fabulous Less Vegas.” Basically, it’s yet another example of what Hal Rothman called “carpetbagger journalists” blowing through town and trying to pass off their insights as
More recession discussion: Vegas goes national Read More »
life in vegas, what's newA story in the Las Vegas Sun on Friday gives me a jumping-off point for a somewhat-extended discussion of slot hold: Longtime gamblers have been saying it for months: If you want people to play in your casino during the recession, reduce the hold on your slot machines. A panel of marketing experts validated that
Lower your slot hold, get more players? Read More »
news about gamblingDoes this excerpt from an article at The American about the decline of middle class cities sound like the past few years on the Strip? I think so: Ultimately, in good times or bad, cities have to want a middle class to have one. And politicians, if asked, will genuflect to the idea of maintaining
Luxury cities and high-end casinos Read More »
news about gamblingToday’s Sun has an interesting piece about how different corporate cultures work on the Strip: As it turns out, the industry’s giants, MGM Mirage and Harrah’s Entertainment, have evolved into different animals at the top of their respective food chains. Customers will be familiar with some of these differences. While most MGM Mirage resorts are
Diff’rent strokes for casino folks Read More »
news about gamblingI’m going to be on Face to Face with Jon Ralston tonight, talking about the effects of the economic slowdown on outlying casino markets like Mesquite, Jean, and Primm. If you’re in the Las Vegas area, you can watch on Las Vegas One (channel 19) at 5:30 p.m., 6:30 p.m., 8 p.m., 10:30 p.m. and
Things are slow in Vegas, maybe, but they’re even slower in Mesquite. From the LVRJ: If you think the slowing economy has hit casino operators in Las Vegas hard, travel 80 miles northeast to Mesquite. Black Gaming, operator of three hotel-casinos in the town, reported an operational loss of $15 million for the quarter ended
Mesquite losing streak Read More »
news about gamblingI don’t think you’ll see officials in Nevada, or anywhere else in the US, adopting this approach any time soon. From Bloomberg: South Korea’s National Gaming Control Commission yesterday said it intended to limit total annual revenue of the gambling industry, including horse racing, lottery tickets and casinos, to about 14 trillion won $13.4 billion.
Limiting gambling in South Korea Read More »
news about gamblingHere’s a quick recap: I write about the history of gambling. Much gambling used to be illegal. Gaming is organized. Therefore, I write about organized crime. I’m always eager to find other forms of organized crime to compare gambling syndicates to. So imagine my delight when I learned that economist Peter Leeson has written a