Mississippi Gambling

Sunday, November 11, 2007

By WILLIAM H. SOKOLIC
Courier-Post Staff

Atlantic CITY

The gambling casino industry took another hit in October, with gross slipping 7.5 percentage compared to the same calendar month a twelvemonth ago, thanks to competition from neighbour states and, to a degree, the partial smoke ban.

Slot gross drop 12.6 percent, according to figs released Tuesday by the Casino Control Commission.

"The indexes are worse in October than in September," said Antony Rodio, president of the Hilton and Resorts.

The year-to-year declines should go on until adjacent spring, he said, when a new alkali line is established in relation to gambling casinos in Keystone State and New York. But it could be a piece before figs attain 2006 levels.

Already, slot gross is below October 2004 levels, Rodio said.

The recently opened Saddle Horse Airy Casino Resort in the Poconos -- the first stand-alone slot parlour not associated with a racecourse -- have had some impact, siphoning off clients from the New House Of York area, said Michael Osanloo, senior frailty president of selling for Harrah's Entertainment Inc.'s four Atlantic Ocean City properties.

Table game gross rose 7.3 percentage in October, in portion because the gambling casinos in Keystone State and New House Of York don't offer traditional tabular array games.

"We did well with tabular array game business. That volition be a tendency for the foreseeable future. With slots in Eastern Keystone State and New York, tabular array games have got to be the manner to struggle back," Osanloo said.

For the first 10 calendar months of the year, gambling casinos won $4.2 billion, down 5 percentage from the same time period last year. If the monthly diminutions transport through for November and December, the yearly diminution will be worse than analysts predicted at the beginning of the year.

As it is, 2007 will tag the first twelvemonth in the history of gambling casino gambling in Atlantic Ocean City in which year-over-year gross decreased.

Win -- or gambling casino gross -- is the nett amount of money won by casinos. It is not profit.

Every gambling casino saw a diminution in slot gross in October, with five gambling hallways down dual digits, led by the still-beleaguered Tropicana, which was off more than than 20 percent. Resorts turned in the best public presentation in the city, percentagewise, almost breaking even.

Table game gross for the calendar month was much more than than uneven, with Borgata and Harrah's up more than 42 percentage and Showboat up 37.5 percent. Meanwhile, the Trump Taj Mahal and Hilton slipped by dual figures. In overall gross figures, Tropicana and Hilton led the losers, slipping 15 percent.

Year-to-date, lone two gambling casinos are on the positive side of the slot ledger: Caesars and Harrah's, both places with agreeableness additions. Caesars owes its success to pick traffic visiting the Pier Shops at Caesars and a new theater.

"That's paying off for us," Osanloo said.

Tropicana have turned in the worst comparing twelvemonth in slots and overall, with the lone dual figure decline.

"The truth is it will acquire worse before it acquires better," Osanloo said.

The reply lies to a big extent in rooms. Rodio credits Resorts' consequences in slots to the improver of 63 more than suite in 2007. When three new hotel towers unfastened adjacent year, it should give a much needful jar to the industry, he said.

Between 2010 and 2012, three new megaresorts will open, which do it more than ambitious for aged places to compete, Rodio said.

Each gambling casino hotel will confront pressure level to add hotel suite and spread out nongaming opportunities.

Both Resorts and Hilton have got more than than adequate land to make so, he said.

"It's a struggle. But I still have got supreme assurance in the marketplace long term," Rodio said.

Casinos also necessitate to capitalise on the tabular array game experience.

"We necessitate to force that hard," Osanloo said.

Range William H. Sokolic at (609) 823-9159 or

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