Harrah’s Survey Examines the Casino Gambler

 There were 322 million casino visitors alone last year. And according to a new survey by Harrah's, more than 25% of American adults are visiting a casino every year, an astounding 52.8 million people. Additionally, gamblers averaged more than over six casino visits a year, the study found.

Every year Harrah\'s Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: HET), releases a profile of the traits and characteristics, as well as other demographic data, or the prototypical American casino player. This year gamblers averaged about six casino visits a year, and they are more likely to purchase new products and discuss their personal experiences.

"Since the Harrah\'s Survey was first published in 1993, we\'ve learned that casino gamblers lead an active lifestyle, enjoy a wide variety of experiences, are fiscally responsible and are more prepared for the  future," said Gary Loveman, chairman, chief executive officer and president of Harrah\'s. "Gamblers\' broad experiences lead them to be early adopters and potential influencers as they share their opinions and recommendations on a variety of subjects with friends and relatives."

And the wealthiest Americans are most likely to take a casino trip. The survey notes those with income of more than $95,000 made up 31 percent of all individual casino players. However, the median household income of casino gamblers is $56,663, which is about $8,000 higher than the U.S. household median of $48,997.

Perhaps since gaming is slightly more prevalent in the western United States people from that region has the most casino players. In all 33 percent of people in the western region visited a casino while the North East had a 28 percent visitation rate and the North Central region saw 27 percent of its adult population take a casino trip. Californians took the most casino visits in 2005 (50,354,152), representing 16 percent of all trip. Other state states generating the most were (in order): New York, Illinois, Nevada, Florida, New Jersey, Texas, Michigan, Missouri and Louisiana.

Another interesting aspect of the survey regarded answers on food and travel. According to the results, casino gamblers were more likely to have taken a domestic trip of 500+ miles (36 percent vs. 31 percent for non-gamblers) or a trip outside the country (20 percent vs. 13 percent for non-gamblers). Gamblers are also more likely to enjoy regional/national foods such as Italian (72 percent vs. 61 percent for non-gamblers); Chinese (65 percent vs. 45 percent); Mexican/Tex-Mex (58 percent vs. 54 percent); and Greek/Middle Eastern (25 percent vs. 17 percent).

Gamblers are also more likely to try new restaurants than non-gamblers with 21 percent vs. 12 percent. Additionally, 42 percent of gamblers like to experiment with cooking vs. 32 percent for non-gamblers.

Finally, casino gamblers percent more likely than the national average to have pursued a post-high school education likely to be a white-collar worker. They are also more inclined to view work as a career (58 percent vs. 48 percent for non-gamblers).

The survey was commissioned by Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: HET), casino entertainment through operating subsidiaries.  And based on two 2005 nationwide studies by The Roper Reports from GfK NOP, and the U.S. Gaming Panel conducted by TNS. TNS mailed a survey questionnaire in 2005 to a panel of 100,000 adults generating 57,205 respondents.