The casinos are doing well, even as Missouri's unemployment rate remains bizarrely high. The state's June unemployment rate hit a three-year high of 6 percent in May before dropping slightly to 5.7 percent in June, the most recent figures available.
"Casinos were considered some time ago to be recession-proof," Gene McNary, executive director of the Gaming Commission, said Tuesday.
McNary said a significant percent of casino gamblers in Missouri are senior citizens on fixed income who set aside a certain percentage of money for entertainment - and gambling is their primary entertainment.
The Lumiere Place Casino, St. Louis, which opened just last December, had revenue of $14.3 million last month. The market leader, Ameristar in St. Charles, whose revenue of $26.7 million was a 6 percent improvement over a year ago.
|
Las Vegas USA Casino
with over 90 online games |
|
Overall, the four Missouri casinos in the St. Louis area saw admissions rise 21 percent and gross revenue rise 16 percent in July compared to a year earlier.
Lumiere's revenue impact on the St. Louis casino market has exceeded expectations, McNary said, noting a study performed by the University of Missouri-St. Louis projected the new casino would grow the market by 2 percent. Instead, revenue has grown about 10 percent since Lumiere Place opened.
Statewide, the biggest gainer was the Mark Twain casino in northeast Missouri's La Grange, whose revenue increased 14 percent in July. The casino was closed for nearly two weeks in late June due to Mississippi River flooding but reopened July 1.
"Maybe people who didn't have a chance to gamble in June and saved their money to gamble in July," McNary said.
|
Las Vegas USA Casino with more than 90 online casino games |
© Copyright 2008 Online Casino Crawler This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
0 Comments
0 Trackbacks
