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Report: AZ No. 3 in tribal casino revenue
Message was posted: 10:48 Jun 29th, 2007

User: Lucky Lady Rank: Casino Gold: 29190CG Contributor rating: 75600 Status: Offline

Casino news source: Arizona Daily Star - http://www.azstarnet.com Report: AZ No. 3 in tribal casino revenue Arizona daily star Tucson, Arizona | Published: 06.29.2007 Indian gambling revenues in Arizona jumped more than 18 percent in 2006, topping $2 billion, according to a nationwide report. The growth meant Arizona nearly overtook Connecticut as the nation's second-largest state for Indian gambling revenues, according to the Indian Gaming Industry Report by Alan Meister, an economist with Analysis Group in Los Angeles. California had the highest revenues, at $7.7 billion, up 9.8 percent, followed by Connecticut, up 3.3 percent at nearly $2.5 billion. After Arizona, rounding out the top five were Oklahoma, with just less than $2 billion, up 24.7 percent; and Florida, at $1.6 billion, up 21.5 percent. Connecticut is home to two of the nation's largest and most successful Indian casinos, Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun, the report noted. In Arizona, nongambling revenue at Indian casinos, such as food and beverages, brought in nearly $195 million in 2006, up 18 percent. Fifteen tribes — including the Tohono O'odham and the Pascua Yaqui tribes in Southern Arizona — operated 26 gambling facilities in the state, two more than in 2005, the report said. There's more growth to come locally. The Tohono O'odham Gaming Enterprise, which operates the Desert Diamond and Golden Ha:sañ casinos, is building a $120 million hotel-casino complex at 7350 S. Nogales Highway. And the Gila River Indian Community plans to build a $60 million, 120,000-square-foot casino on tribal land adjacent to south Chandler. It's expected to open in fall 2008. Although Arizona's 18 percent revenue growth rate in 2006 outpaced a 15.3 percent rate in 2005, eight states saw faster growth in 2006, the report found. However, the fastest-growing states had relatively low revenues, and in some cases, limited gambling. Among the states with reportable revenue, Oregon has the highest growth rate, up 25.8 percent to $578 million; followed by Oklahoma. The Indian Gaming Industry Report — available at http:// www.CasinoCityPress.com — used publicly available data where available, along with proprietary computer models for estimates. A report by the National Indian Gaming Association said Arizona tribes brought in $1.6 billion in gambling revenue last year. The individual tribes don't release their revenue figures.