Coast casino revenues for December set record
$98M take is casinos’ best-ever December
BILOXI - Revenues from Coast casinos set another record last month and were just shy of the $1 billion mark for the year.
The Mississippi State Tax Commission released gross gambling revenues Wednesday afternoon. Coast casinos took in $98.2 million last month, making it the best December ever. Statewide, it was also the best December ever with figures totaling $228.1 million.
Biloxi accounted for the lion’s share of the Coast’s earnings.
“A lot of people from across the country look at these numbers and when they look at them they’re seeing a great story,” said Mayor A.J. Holloway. “These numbers send a strong message about the strength of the gaming market here in Biloxi. But more than that, these figures are going to mean that we’ll be seeing more of the other amenities return - things like restaurants, tourist shops and the mom-and-pop hotels.”
The December figure for the Coast was up 15 percent over December 2004, when the total take was $85.5 million. Scott King, an adjunct professor with Tulane University who teaches a casino management course, said the numbers are even better when the number of slot machines and table games are figured in.
“Right now, supply is about two-thirds what it was (before Katrina),” King said. “Since that time, the market has been anywhere between 85 percent and 100 percent. Two of the last four months have been the best months ever, and Biloxi has set records every month.”
However, state cumulative figures of $2.57 billion for the year are still less than the $2.78 billion earned in 2004 and the $2.7 billion earned in 2003.
Coast casinos were about $90,000 below the $1 billion mark last year.
“What people are going to start to look for now is whether the market is going to grow on top of that,” King said.
Source: Tom Wilemon Sun Herald