News

Smoking ban cited for drop in casino revenues

Posted February 08, 2008 10:00 pm

Adriana Colindres

Illinois casinos raked in less money last month than they did at the same time a year ago, and industry observers pin most of the blame on the new statewide ban on indoor smoking.

Adjusted gross receipts for the nine operating casinos totaled $131,465,000 in January, according to recently released figures from the Illinois Gaming Board.

That's nearly a 17.5 percent drop, compared with the January 2007 total of $159,268,000.

"We're not saying that the smoking (ban) is causing all of it," said Tom Swoik, executive director of the Illinois Casino Gaming Association. "But we believe a majority of the losses were as the result of the smoking ban."

"People are going outside to smoking shelters, spending less time at machines or tables," he added. "Less time on the machines and tables means less revenue."

Bad weather in January also probably contributed to the decline in revenue, he said.

David Strow, a spokesman for Boyd Gaming, which owns the Par-A-Dice in East Peoria, said his company has a policy of not discussing monthly casino revenues.

Even so, he said that because of the smoking ban, "I think everyone in the Illinois gaming industry expected there would be some kind of impact."

"The extent of the impact remains to be seen," he said.

The state ban, which took effect Jan. 1, prohibits smoking in restaurants, bars and similar spaces. People still may smoke in their own homes.

To accommodate smoking patrons, the Par-A-Dice has built weather-controlled shelters, Strow said.

"We wanted to provide them someplace as close to the casino floor as possible," he said.

Illinois Gaming Board statistics show that the Par-A-Dice - the lone casino between the Chicago metropolitan area and the Metro East - took less of a financial hit than most of the other Illinois casinos.

"(East) Peoria is pretty much in the center of the state, so they don't have the competition from bordering states at the same level that the other boats do," Swoik said.

The Associated Press reported Friday that Harrah's Metropolis riverboat casino in southern Illinois is laying off about 30 people, in part because of the impact of the smoking ban. The casino employs about 1,000 people.

Swoik said he hasn't heard of any other casinos laying off employees, but he added: "I suspect that everybody is looking at various ways of cutting costs."

The Washington, D.C.,-based American Gaming Association has commissioned research on the issue of smoking in casinos, said director of communications Holly Thomsen. Bans in Delaware and the Canadian province of Ontario triggered declines in casino revenue, she said.

In the case of Ontario, she said, "Folks just crossed over to Detroit (Michigan) to the casinos there, where smoking was not banned."

Adriana Colindres can be reached at (217) 782-6292.

CHART:

Here's a list of revenues for Illinois riverboats in January 2007 and January 2008.

Location January 2008 January 2007 Percent change

Alton $8,053,000 $10,214,000 -21.16

East Peoria $9,377,000 $10,377,000 -9.63

Rock Island $2,361,000 $2,872,000 -17.80

Joliet Empress $14,952,000 $20,935,000 -28.58

Metropolis $10,766,000 $13,320,000 -19.17

Joliet Harrah's $25,170,000 $29,828,000 -15.62

Aurora $19,023,000 $22,591,000 -15.79

East St. Louis $13,294,000 $13,592,000 -2.19

Elgin $28,469,000 $35,539,000 -19.89

Totals $131,465,000 $159,268,000 -17.46

Article Categories
News