Casino revenues across Mississippi dropped by 2 percent in 2017, after 16 riverboat casinos extended their losing streak last year.
The Clarion-Ledger reported that the statewide casino revenue declined to $2.08 billion from $2.12 billion after seeing profit decline across the state’s 16 floating casinos.
Data from the State Revenue Department showed that revenues for the floating casinos dipped to $885 million, while casino revenue in Tunica County and Lula were hit by increasing competition from two Arkansas racetrack casinos.
The only silver lining for Mississippi were the 12 coastal casinos, which eked out a 1 percent revenue gain to $1.19 billion. This was the fourth consecutive gain for the coastal casinos.
Mississippi, the sixth largest gambling state nationwide, earned around $250 million in gambling taxes in 2017.
Suggestions pour in for new Revel casino
Concerned former Revel customers have stepped forward to help the Atlantic City casino get back on its feet.
The Associated Press recently conducted a survey on how Colorado developer Bruce Deifeik, who recently bought the $118 million shuttered property from Glenn Straub, would be able to steer the rebranded Ocean Resort Casino to profitability.
Former customers pointed out the casino layout wasn’t really inviting. Case in point was the grand escalator that connected the ground floor to the casino level, which most customers said failed to provide a spectacular entrance experience.
Other issues included the smoking ban and overzealous security personnel, which customers said made them stay away from casino. Of the 12 casinos in Atlantic City, only Revel prohibited customers from smoking indoors.
The news outlet found that in terms of food, most customers preferred the buffet over celebrity restaurants. One of the mistakes that Revel did was to market the casino for luxury tourists and high rollers instead of hosting bus excursions for day-tripping gamblers, only to realize later that luxury customers were very rare in Atlantic City.
Customers would also love for the new Ocean Resort Casino to give generous retail offers to welcome guests from all walks of life, according to the report.
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