RSS
Home
Slowing economy affects brick-and-mortar casino games
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
In September, for the tenth month out of the last twelve, revenue was down in both Las Vegas and Atlantic City casinos, reflecting a continued decline in disposable income and an increase in reluctance to travel for big blowout trips to the two biggest gambling meccas in the United States.
Up until last year, Atlantic City had not seen year-over-year declines in gambling revenue since the 1970's. Las Vegas has seen consistent revenue growth for the last twenty years which has helped to make Clark County, Nevada one of the fastest-growing counties in the United States over the past few years.
Atlantic City appears to be going through a steeper decline at the moment. In addition to slower casino traffic, the city is also facing competition from new parlors beginning operations within driving distance in Pennsylvania, providing alternate options for potential travelers. Las Vegas, on the other hand, is suffering not from the disappearance of customers for alternate sites, but rather an outright refusal to travel. Several large projects in the Clark County area have been delayed or outright halted due to the slowing traffic and shrinking margins.
It does not appear, right now, that the lost revenue is being put toward other gaming opportunities. Online poker sites have not seen much revenue growth, due both to other living costs and legal restrictions preventing players from playing online - in 2006, industry revenue was estimated to be about $12 billion. As for popular game consoles and other PC games, it was expected that revenue would grow to $9 billion by 2013 compared to the current estimate of $4.5 billion for 2008. It remains to be seen, though, if continued economic woes and spiraling costs will continue to pinch the pocketbooks of many types of gamers.
Let's hope not.
Related Articles:
Comments
