NEW ORLEANS (AP) — With numerous outlets closed during hurricanes Gustav and Ike, Louisiana’s state-licensed casinos took a big hit in September as revenue dropped nearly 23 percent from September 2007.
The 13 riverboat casinos, the four slot machine casinos at race tracks and the downtown New Orleans casino took in just under $163 million from gamblers last month. That’s down from just under $211 million the previous September.
Only the casinos in the Shreveport-Bossier City area were open for the entire month. Casinos in Baton Rouge, the New Orleans area, Lake Charles and Morgan City missed anywhere from three to eight days because of storm closures.
Gustav also wiped out much of the Labor Day weekend for the southern Louisiana casinos.
The riverboats won $116.1 million last month, down from $145.3 million in September 2007. Harrah’s Entertainment Inc.’s downtown New Orleans casino won $23.2 million, down from $35.2 million September 2007. The race track casinos won $23.5 million, down from $29.9 million the previous September.
The closures clouded another problem the casinos may be facing: the general economic downturn. In neighboring Mississippi, which avoided Ike-related closures, regulators reported winnings from gamblers last month fell 18.9 percent from September 2007.
Larger gambling destinations already have been reporting big declines in the face of the slow economy. Nevada casino revenue fell 8.1 percent in August 2008 from August 2007, while the 11 casinos in Atlantic City, N.J., said revenue was down 15.1 percent in September 2008 from September 2007 — the steepest monthly fall since 1978.
The figures do not include Indian reservation casinos, which are not required to report their winnings to the public.
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