Louisiana Casino Revenue Starts To Climb In March

Louisiana casinos have had a rough go of it since 2005. Hurricane Katrina started a trend of decreasing revenue that has continued through the economic recession for casinos in the state. It now appears, however, that the casinos are starting to rebound.

In March, Louisiana casinos had a revenue increase of 4.3%. The riverboat casinos provided much of the revenue, with the thirteen casinos winning $146.4 million. The four casinos located at race tracks in Louisiana brought in $35.3 million, and Harrah's in downtown New Orleans won $33.7 million.

Each year, Louisiana casinos are helped out by the annual Mardi Gras festivities in New Orleans. While Louisiana casinos relied heavily on Mardi Gras to save their month, other gaming centers across the US had their troubles in March. Nevada, Mississippi, and New Jersey all saw revenue declines in March.

"The casinos are still struggling to recover from the economic recession, and it is going to be a slow process," said Gaming Analyst Steve Schwartz. "It is likely that a full recovery will not be seen until late next year, and until then, the casinos will have to deal with fluctuating revenue figures on a monthly basis."

Most analysts agree with Schwartz that the casino industry will recover by the end of 2012. There are some analysts that believe the recovery will happen sooner, but they are few and far between. The general consensus is that as the economy recovers in the US, the casinos will begin to see more and more customers coming back.

Competition is growing inside the industry, with lawmakers all across the nation turning to casino gambling to help them balance budgets. The Northeast has seen the biggest growth spurt, with Pennsylvania, Maryland, Maine, New York, and Delaware all increasing their presence within the casino gambling industry.

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