On November 13th, 2007, a growth in the number of gambling establishments made a slight difference regarding the overall earning of the state licensed casinos in Louisiana for the month of Octobers. Players lost a total of $196.7 million last month, slightly larger from October 2006 when the casinos won a total of $194.4 million from gamblers.
The Amelia Belle casino in Morgan City and the slot machine facility at the New Orleans Fair Grounds are not yet open almost a year ago. The revenue improvement comes as the Mississippi Gulf Coast continues its recovery from Hurricane Katrina. Through the month of September, the previous month for which results were available, that the area's casino had won a total of $998.4 million, more than the $910.7 million for 2006, according to the Mississippi State Tax Commission.
In Shreveport-Bossier City, five riverboat casinos and the Louisiana Downs won $64 million last month, a slide from $65.6 million in October 2006. That market, once a good place for players from the Dallas-Fort Worth area, is facing tough competition from the Indian-owned casinos in Oklahoma.
In Lake Charles, the other market influenced by the Texas players, three riverboats and the Delta Downs casino won a total of $47.8 million, which improved slightly from $46.8 million in October 2006. In the New Orleans casino market, which enjoyed a brief growth until the casinos in the Gulf Coast reopened for business, players lost $56.5 million; including the $32.5 million at Harrah's casino in the downtown area compared with the $55.5 million in October 2006. But the difference was compensated by the Fair Grounds casino facility, which earned $1.3 million.
The two riverboat facilities in Baton Rouge won a total of $18.4 million just last month, a slight slide from $18.8 million in October 2006. The Evangeline Downs casino facility in Opelousas won $8.2 million last month, improved from $7.7 million for October 2006. The Amelia Belle facility, which is not yet open last year, won $3.8 million in winnings from players.
A lot of competition is on the works. Pinnacle Entertainment Incorporated is constructing a second riverboat casino in Lake Charles. The L'Auberge Du Lac was the top earner among the riverboats with $23.4 million last month. Pinnacle also wants to get the final riverboat license to open a casino in Baton Rouge.
The voters from the East Baton Rouge Parish will decide on whether to approve the plan on February 9th, 2008. In September, the casinos won $210.7 million, which improved from $209.1 million in September 2006. Louisiana also has three Indian owned casino facilities that are not required by law to report their earnings.
12/02/2007 06:20 PM
Ann Pettersson