Casino Industry Having to Adjust to Recession

This casino article was written at the beginning of the month and is an interesting take on the casino (and bingo) industry.

"If gambling is entertainment, where does it fall in the pecking order of consumer priorities? Is it before or after a new flat-screen TV? In tough times, where do cash-strapped managers — or, these days, CFOs — target their marketing? What if the decision comes down to a few dozen of the latest slots versus a refurbished buffet?

As casino executives wade through what looks to be a sustained and ravaging recession, most are faced with an environment they have never lived through. High-end Las Vegas Strip properties are nervously dealing with mounting vacancy rates and slashed room rates. Once-a-week customers at smaller, locals-based gaming halls are becoming once-a-month visitors. The rivers of cash flowing through tribal casinos across the United States have slowed to stream levels.

From card rooms to small slots houses to megaresorts, from California to Connecticut, the gaming industry, once thought to be “recession-proof,” is showing itself to be what it has long sought to be — on an even playing field with the rest of the American economy."

For the complete story, please see Thomas J. Walsh, Back to Basics, IGWB, February 2, 2009