The Weak Economy Leaves A Mark on Casinos

The Casino Industry in Mississippi is doing much better than many other parts of the country during this tough economic time. But as MPB’s Phoebe Judge reports, the state budget is still going to feel the effects.

Mississippi’s gross casino revenues were 221 million dollars last month, that’s down about 2% from January of 2008. Allen Godfrey, deputy director of the Mississippi Gaming Commission, says given what’s going on with the economy that isn’t that bad.

“Well we were very excited that the January numbers were what they were. It’s up from the month before, December. In today’s economy we feel like that’s a very positive thing.”

Godfrey says one reason the Mississippi numbers are much better is because most of the casino business comes from customers who are just a tank of gas away. Even with only a 2% decline, the state budget is poised to feel an affect. Casinos revenue contributed over 194 million dollars to the state’s general fund last year. In this poor economy casinos have to work even harder to lure customers to the tables. Beverly Martin is executive director of the Mississippi Casino Operators Association, she says casino’s bottom lines have plummeted.

“So they are subsidizing everything from airlines to tour bus groups. They’re giving away buffets, giving away hotel rooms. So they’re going back to the tried and true methods, which are actually costing them more money.”

Another way casinos are tightening their belts is by laying people off. Thousands of jobs have been lost in the casino industry since October. The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians have layed off over 600 workers since January. For MPB News, I’m Phoebe Judge in Gulfport.