Recession Causing Lucky Dog Casino To Close For The Winter

Big-name casino companies are resorting to drastic measures such as bankruptcy and employee layoffs to try and stave off the recession. Now, tribal casinos are showing that they are in trouble due to the economic conditions in the US.

The Skokomish Tribe's Lucky Dog Casino in Washington announced on Wednesday that they will be closing their doors for the winter. The economic conditions have taken such a toll on the casino that they cannot afford to continue to operate and will have to close for the next several months.

The casino's general manager, Nick Phillips, announced Wednesday, that as a result of the casino closing, eighty full time employees will be laid off. Another forty part time employees were let go by the Lucky Dog. While it came a shock to the employees, casino closings have become the norm in the past couple of months.

"The smaller casinos stayed open as long as they could," said Gaming Analyst Steve Schwartz, "But if the big resort towns such as Las Vegas and Atlantic City are not attracting customers, that does not leave much hope for the smaller operations."

The Lucky Dog officials stopped short of saying the casino would be closed for good. They have not set a re-open date, but as of Wednesday the doors were closed and there will be no more gambling for the coming months.

Customers that have winning tickets from the slot machines at the casino still have the opportunity to claim their winnings. The casino will honor any outstanding tickets until October 30th. The closing of the casino is unfortunate for a facility that underwent a $4 million face lift back in 2006.

October 1, 2009
Posted By Terry Goodwin
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
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