That is the case in 2010, much like it has been the past several years. Casino tax revenue is expected to produce a us$ 24 million shortfall in the education budget. While that will be a tough bridge to gap, it will be nowhere near the us$ 54 million shortfall from 2009.
The economic recession of 2008 caused many casinos throughout the country to watch their revenue fall drastically. Americans did not have the extra spending money to be hanging out in casinos, and the decrease in revenue caused many state lawmakers to cut services within their education system.
Despite the troubles that the revenue shortage will create, casinos in Missouri are confident that the revenue will again start to grow in the new year. There is reason for optimism based on recent trends that show the gaming industry starting to recover from the recession. If that trend continues, legislators all across the US will breath a sigh of relief in 2011.
"The biggest casino market in the country is Las Vegas, and there have been signs the past couple of months that gamblers are starting to go back to the casinos," said Gaming Analyst Steve Schwartz. "If the economy continues to recover at its current pace, it would likely be sometime in the middle to late part of 2011 where casinos would see the greatest gain."
Las Vegas and Atlantic City have seen the economic recession destroy several big projects. While Atlantic City has had a complete halt in growth, Las Vegas had two major projects completed in 2009 and this year. MGM Mirage and Dubai World opened CityCenter last year, while the Cosmopolitan was opened recently.