For an industry that was once considered recession-proof, Mississippi casinos continue to see their revenues slide. For August, the Mississippi State Tax Commission reports a drop of 9 percent over July, with gambling establishments around the state reporting total revenues of $206 million. In August of 2008, winnings totaled $238.2 million.

"What casinos are finding out around the country is that it is going to be a slow process for gaming revenue to go back to where it was before the recession," said Casino Gambling Web Gaming Analyst Brad Dawkins on the CGW Web site, "Hurting these casinos even more these days is an increase in competition."

The CGW story also states: "Many states have used the recession as a reason to expand their casino gambling laws. States that have never had casinos now do, and others where casinos already existed have added new casinos in different areas of their state. It has made it difficult on the existing casinos."

In Mississippi, all locations have seen a decline in revenue. On the Gulf Coast winnings were $96.4 million in August, down from $104.1 million in July. Those on the Mississippi River reported income of $109.6 million in August, down from $120.6 million in July.

Previous Comments

ID

152232

Comment

I can only hope this won't have an effect on Margaritaville's construction. Soon, the coast will see a true Valhalla emerge amongst mega-resorts.

Author

byewren

Date

2009-09-23T11:07:28-06:00

ID

152265

Comment

i feel sorry for them, so i'm going to Tunica to help them out next weekend!

Author

2599

Date

2009-09-23T18:20:14-06:00