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January 13, 2009 - I've been
hearing a lot about how Vegas and the brick 'n mortar casino
gambling industry as a whole have been suffering and taking
hits as a result of these pressing economic times. I've
heard so much, in fact, that sometimes it kind of makes you
think that Vegas is losing money and going broke. Well, we
all know the Casinos Edge isn't going to allow that to
happen. And let's face it - Vegas and Atlantic City aren't
losing money.
The latest report accounting for the woes of the land-based
gambling sector are regarding Atlantic City and the
riverboat casino scene in Indiana. Showing an 18.7% decline
in revenue for the month of December, Atlantic City is
indeed not doing as well for itself the same time last year.
You could actually say the same for the entire year of 2008.
However, the reality of the situation is that Atlantic
City's eleven casinos still won $302 million from gamblers
in December. Now, let me ask you - Does that sound like
Atlantic City is going down? Oh, and did I mention that
Harrah's actually showed a 4.9% increase in revenue?
Sure, there are losses to deal with - namely, job cuts, less
tax revenue and ripple effects in the local economy.
However, when you hear the execs and casino managers talk
about "the way things were", you would think they were
eating fried beans out of a can.
Over in Indiana, the situation is no different. The Casino
Association of Indiana is complaining that it now takes more
casinos to do the same amount of business that fewer casinos
did in times past. But the fact remains that Indiana's
eleven full service casinos still brought in $2.5 billion in
revenues for 2008, which was only $0.2 billion less than
2007. And the horse tracks better not even open their mouths
to complain. Since the introduction of casino slot machines
little over one-half year ago, they have brought in an
additional $195 million.
I guess my point is that I still agree with the mindset that
casinos are recession proof. Sure, they are prone to ups and
downs. But the bottom line is that the House Advantage will
always exist over gamblers and the casino will always win
more. If the brick 'n mortar industry can't get enough money
to feed their fat faces, they should start lobbying
to regulate online gambling in the U.S. Until then, brick 'n
mortar casinos should quit their whining and suck it up.
Okay, I feel better now. Thanks for listening... Originally published:
January, 2009 | Categories:
Gambling
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