US: Louisiana casinos report overall decrease in revenue in April

Breaking the figures down, the Pelican State’s only land-based casino, Harrah’s in New Orleans, reported a 3.3% improvement in revenue to US$ 26.7 million, compared to the US$ 25.8 million it collected in April 2013.

Louisiana’s 14 riverboat casinos, on the other hand, remained steady with its revenues of US$ 137.3 million last month just 0.4% lower than the same month last year; while Louisiana’s four racetrack slot casinos saw their revenues fall 5.6% to US$ 30.9 million in April.

Turning our attention to the state’s other individual markets, the Baton Rouge area reported a 6.7% fall in revenues to US$ 22.7 million; the Shreveport area saw a 5.6% improvement to US$50.7 million; Lake Charles’s two riverboat casinos returned a 3.9% revenue increase to US$ 42.9 million; Delta Downs was down 0.9% to US$ 15.1 million; and Evangeline Downs, in Opelousas, was down by 6% to US$ 7.4 million.

Louisiana opened its first legalized casino back in 1993 and in spite of the economic downturn which has ravaged the country’s casino industry since 2008, Louisiana casinos have shown great resilience and returned impressive growth over the past few years. Casing point, the state’s casinos generated US$2.4 billion in 2012, up from the US$ 2.37 billion they produced in 2011, leading American Gaming Association CEO Frank J. Fahrenkopf Jr., to comment at the end of last year:“After three years of increasing growth and positive signs in all sectors of the industry, it’s clear that we have weathered the recession.”

In 2012, Louisiana commercial casinos employed a total of 15,061 people, who then received US$ 631 million in wages, including tips and benefits. The state subsequently collected US$ 579.45 million in the form of gambling taxes, which then went towards a number of vital state services, including school funding, public retirement systems, highway construction, as well as fire and police protection services.