As California goes, so goes the nation?
"Gamblers pinch pennies, tribal casinos take hit; In Calif., they still play, but spend less" by Hugo Martin, Los Angeles Times | November 27, 2009
LOS ANGELES - This is what a recession looks like at Southern California’s tribal casinos: Nearly every seat at the 25 cent slot machines is filled. Gamblers wait three deep around the cheapest blackjack tables. The reels on the penny slot machines spin almost without interruption.
Visitors are still streaming into the tribal casinos, but they have cut way back on spending, gaming operators say. American Indian-run casinos in California and Nevada reported a nearly 6 percent drop in revenue last year, as customers switched from high-end stakes to lower-end bets. It’s a shift that disproves the adage that the gaming industry is recession-proof, as lower revenues have forced tribes to cut social services to members and prompted several casinos to lay off workers.
But it is SOMETHING the PROPONENTS and POLITICIANS SAY all the TIME!!!!
“We have the same amount of people and they come in as frequently but they are just spending less,’’ said Mike Hiles, a tribal information officer for the Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians, which operates a casino with 2,000 slot machines, 20 gaming tables, and two restaurants in San Jacinto, Calif.
Maybe you will have to let them win more.
Analysts who study Indian gaming predict further declines in revenue throughout the rest of this year. California’s tribes are so cautious about the future that most have yet to add thousands of new slot machines approved under a controversial agreement negotiated with the state in 2005. Tribal representatives say the casinos are surviving the recession, in part, by attracting gamblers who are foregoing trips to Las Vegas and Reno to save money.
Again, that can not be good for someone!
As a result, the Indian casinos have avoided the huge drop off in tourist traffic in those cities....
For the Indian casinos, the recent drop in gaming revenues marks a dramatic shift from the glowing financial reports over the past five years when casinos reported revenues growing by up to 20 percent a year....
The GOOSE that ROLLED the GOLDEN EGG is DEAD!
The GRAND DEPRESSION killed it!
But
Always a f***ing still, yet, however, but, could, maybe, sigh.
Am I missing any?
California’s tribal casinos are not alone in feeling the recession’s pinch. In Connecticut, the Mohegan Tribe in Uncasville ordered salary cutbacks in January for all employees and suspended raises and contributions to 401(k) accounts....
And that is MOHEGAN, not Foxwoods!!
See: Casino Comparisons: Connecticut's Foxwoods Failure
Yeah, that's the template!--more--"
