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According to the American Gaming Association brick and mortar casinos are suffering in the grips of a poor economy.  Slot machines are no longer enough to keep doors open.  The group suffering worst of all are the smaller casino operations. 

President and CEO of the American Gaming Association, Frank Fahrenkopf Jr., says that the struggle extends beyond smaller brick and mortar casinos, but small supplier, like manufactures of slot machines, are also taking great pains just to stay afloat. 

“The big guys have more ability to go out in the marketplace and raise some (capital). Some of the smaller companies do not,” said Fahrenkopf.

All across the United States third quarter revenues at casinos were dismal.  Nationwide revenues suffered a 4.6 percent drop below last years numbers of $8.4 billion. 

There are several problems contributing to the lack of revenues at brick and mortar casinos; many of them unprecedented.  First, banks are not willing to offer loans at a reasonable interest rate for construction and expansion projects.  On top of that, consumers are tightening their purses and cutting back significantly on gambling and entertainment spending.  A few unexpected contributors to the problem are hurricanes, and smoking bans.

Las Vegas has been in bad shape for some time now.  Although most Las Vegas hotels are now offering rooms at a steal, just to keep people coming, the player that show up are not willing to spend lot of doe on expensive meals nor are they willing to drop all of their spare change into slot machines.

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