Casino news source: SignOn San Diego - http://www.signonsandiego.com
Mississippi casino gross revenue at $265M in March
ASSOCIATED PRESS
11:21 a.m. April 18, 2007
JACKSON, Miss. – Mississippi's gross gaming revenues were $265.6 million in March, up about $43 million from a year ago.
The gross earnings figure represents revenue with no operating costs or other expenses deducted. And it's casino revenue only – separate from hotel, restaurant or bar revenues generated by the resorts.
In March 2006, gross revenue totaled $222.8 million with $259.4 million recorded in March 2005, according to Mississippi State Tax Commission records.
The Tax Commission tracks gaming revenue by calendar year.
Gaming tax collections are tracked on the state's fiscal year, which runs from July 1 to the next June 30. Tax collections in March totaled $29.7 million compared to $25.1 million for March 2006.
Hurricane Katrina in August 2005 destroyed casinos along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Many of those casinos have reopened.
In March, casinos along the Mississippi coast earned $118.3 million, up from the post-Katrina level of $63.5 million in March 2006 when only a handful of coast casinos were back in operation. Figures exceeded the pre-hurricane March 2005 earnings of $117.7 million and $109.8 million in March 2004.
Along the Mississippi River, casinos reported gross revenue of $147.2 million, compared with $159.3 million in March 2006. The river casinos had earnings of $141.6 million in March 2005.
“It looks like we've got a pretty bright future ahead of us,” Beverly Martin, the executive director of the Mississippi Casino Operators Association, said in a www.sunherald.com article.
“We've got the Hard Rock opening in July. I see that as an increase to the market. I think that will grow the market, and I think a lot of the analysts will agree with that.”
There were five Saturdays last month. Generally, the more weekends that occur in a month boost the revenues.
There is great interest in the rebirth of casinos on the coast based on registration for next month's Southern Gaming Summit in Biloxi, said Martin.
“We're pushing a 20 percent increase in registration and exhibits over 2005, which was our biggest year,” she said. “That's a good indicator. We've got pretty much all the Wall Street banking firms registered. That tells me and the gaming industry that these people are noticing what we're doing down here.”
The Southern Gaming Summit is May 9-10 in Biloxi. |
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