The long-held belief that gambling will thrive during a period of economic difficulty as people see it as their only way out is being put to a test in Las Vegas and other U.S. cities where games of chance proliferate.
As credit tightens and Americans lose their homes and jobs, gambling their last dollar away has become less of an option for many. This has led to casinos' revenues dipping for the eighth consecutive month in August. The peak was a 16 percent income reduction in May, which has slowed down to 7.4 percent in August.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board said it was the longest period of straight losses since it began monitoring casino revenues in 1983. The period right after Sept. 11, 2001 held the record prior to 2008, when it logged five straight months of revenue loss.
Because of the slowdown, the construction of over $10 billion worth of hotels and casino ventures along Las Vegas Boulevard with 10,000 rooms has been placed on hold. Aside from suffering from falling casino revenues, the nation's gambling capital has one of the highest rates for slumping home prices and foreclosures.
The chilling effect of the global meltdown is felt in other cities too where gambling is prevalent. According to Rick's Cabaret International, which owns 20 clubs in seven U.S. cities and two overseas, the establishment had lost 74 percent of its market value in 2008. The operators of the Foxwoods Resort Casino and the Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut reported a 16 and a 13 percent drop in their income in September compared to the same period last year. They attributed the revenue decline to Americans becoming more cautious with how they spend their disposable income.
One consequence of people shying away from casinos is more people become jobless. For August the Las Vegas metropolitan area reported a 7.1 percent unemployment rate, up by 2.1 percent compared to 2007.
Dimi Doronis, a banquet server, recounted he worked only four days in July, six in August and 10 in September, compared to an average of 25 working days a month last year. "I've been 18 years in this town and I've never seen what's gone on like it has this last month... I don't know how I'm still alive. I'm digging into my savings right now, but soon it's going to be done," Doronis told Bloomberg.
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