Biloxi casinos see drop in gaming revenue

The Biloxi casino market suffered its worst month in 20 months in April, with the city’s casinos posting gross gaming revenue of $71.1 million.

The figure was 24 percent off the $93.7 million in gross gaming revenue from March, which was the largest March on record; and 16 percent down from the $84.6 million of April 2007.

The city’s eight casinos posted their largest year ever in 2007, with more than a billion dollars in gross gaming revenue. However, last month’s figure was the lowest since August 2006, before the Beau Rivage re-opened and helped spark a streak of record-breaking figures in Biloxi.

“The escalating price of fuel was the issue I kept hearing about at the Southern Gaming Summit,” said Mayor A.J. Holloway, who was a speaker at the conference held in Biloxi earlier this month. “Despite the impressive numbers in boardings that we’ve seen at the airport, we’re still a drive-in market, and you have to believe that the price of fuel is having an impact.”

During his remarks to the summit, which was attended by thousands of industry insiders, Holloway noted that Biloxi had been reporting “great numbers,” but that the industry faced a number of challenges, particularly the need for more visitor amenities.

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To read the mayor’s remarks to the Southern Gaming Summit, delivered on May 7, click here.

To see the city’s calendar month revenue report, dating back to the advent of gaming in Biloxi, click here.