Gaming revenues fell about 9 percent in September, compared to the previous year’s take, as the slump continues for a 21st month. From the LVRJ: Nevada gaming revenues fell for the 21st straight month in September.Casinos statewide collected $911.1 million during the month, an 8.99 percent decrease compared with a little more than $1 billion […]
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 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 newWere the players complaining about tighter slots right? Well, the answer (since late 2007, at least) is…yes and no. I decided to take a look at how each financial quarter since 2007 broke down for the state, the Las Vegas Strip, and the Boulder Strip. This way, I figured I’d have a good gauge of how casinos catering to tourist (LV Strip) and local (Boulder Strip) crowds responded.
Slot hold and the recession Read More »
news about gamblingCasinos in Atlantic City continue to post revenue declines, as the July number prove. From the AC Press: Casino revenue sank to its lowest level in 12 years in July, another ominous sign that there will be no summer turnaround for the troubled gaming industry. In what is ordinarily the biggest money-making month on the
Earlier this week over at gaming.unlv.edu we rolled out our latest project: the 2009 Las Vegas Casino/Hotel Impact Survey. It’s a new start for the center but also a return to the past. Let me explain… In 1980, accounting firm Laventhal and Horwath conducted a “Recession Impact Study” that polled executives at Las Vegas casinos
The 2009 Recession Impact Study is underway Read More »
what's newHere’s more evidence that Las Vegas never was recession-proof. This is taken from Parry Thomas’ biography, Quiet Kingmaker. As the most important banker to the gaming industry from 1955 to the 1980s, he knows what he’s talking about: In my first twelve years here in Nevada [1955-1967] we went through at least three depressions locally
Never. Recession. Proof. Read More »
news about gamblingThe March gaming and tourism numbers are out, and it doesn’t look pretty, though only time will tell whether the bottom is near or somewhere in the distance. Statewide, all nonrestricted locations won 11.61% less this March than they in March 2008. In Las Vegas, visitor volume declined by 6.5%. Clearly, fewer people are coming
March revenue thoughts Read More »
life in vegas, news about gamblingGaming law expert I. Nelson Rose apparently got misquoted in the LV Sun yesterday, so he sent out an unmediated version of his comments on the Las Vegas economy, which I posted to the UNLV Gaming Reading Room: Economic depressions have immediate impacts on gaming law. I have had more than one large U.S. investor
Rose thinks depression Read More »
news about gamblingNo one ever said that Atlantic City was recession-proof, and now we have the numbers to back it up. Revenues fell 7.1% in 2008, with profits down by 25%. From the AC Press: The casinos can still make money, but the industry is far from recession-proof. While gross operating profits fell significantly in 2008 and
AC feeling the crunch Read More »
atlantic city, news about gamblingIt’s all relative–these guys are still worth billions more than just about anyone who reads this. But their worth significantly less now than they were before, so they lost a great deal of wealth. From KLAS: Forbes Magazine is out with its annual ranking of the world’s billionaires, and the new list confirms the recession
Casino-owning losers Read More »
news about gamblingSheldon Adelson’s drive to find America’s most boring city notwithstanding, most people agree that Las Vegas’ tourist strategy might need a little tweak. Should the town emphasize value, or carefree fun? It’s a serious question. Here’s one approach that I don’t think we’ll be dusting off anytime soon: Las Vegas, home of weapons of mass
An approach they won’t use Read More »
life in vegas, news about gamblingDoing some research for my epochal article on the Strip’s recovery from the travails of the early 1980s, I found this quote in a Boston Globe Magazine article written by Connie Paige: This year’s visit…was different. Life seemed to have switched into neutral. Snatches of conversation with some of the army of casino workers…soon made
More pessimism from the past Read More »
news about gamblingThings in Atlantic City are just as bad as in Las Vegas, only on a slower, small scale, just like when things were good they were slightly less good than out in Vegas. That’s my analysis. For the story, check out Fox News: One casino in the nation's second largest gambling market is being run
Can you guess the year that an article appeared in Forbes magazine with these quotes? — “Las Vegas is showing signs that it is becoming overbuilt.” –“With traffic growing more slowly than capacity, older casinos have been hurting. Atlantic City casinos fared much worse last year.” — “Steve Wynn put it this way: ‘The old