Louisiana casinos win $202.8 million in November

(AP) – Despite the addition of two gambling outlets, Louisiana’s state-licensed casinos only won a fraction more in November 2007 than in November 2006.

Players lost $202.8 million at the 13 riverboats, the downtown New Orleans casino and the slot casinos at the four race tracks. In November 2006, 12 riverboats, Harrah’s New Orleans and three track casinos won $199.7 million.

The two additional outlets that have opened in the past year – the Amelia Belle riverboat near Morgan City and the New Orleans Fair Grounds casino – accounted for $5.8 million of the latest total, meaning that those casinos open in November 2006 recorded a year-to-year drop of $2.7 million.

In November, the riverboats won $140.1 million, while the New Orleans land casino won $32.6 million. The race tracks took in $30.1 million through their slot machines.

There was very little change in any of the state’s casino markets.

The leveling of Louisiana casino revenue, along with the state’s tax take, has been a trend for the past year as the Mississippi Gulf Coast continues its recovery from Hurricane Katrina; it now has 11 shoreside casinos. Through October, those casinos had won $1.1 billion for the year, compared with $910.7 million for the first 10 months of 2006, according to the Mississippi State Tax Commission.

In Louisiana, Shreveport-Bossier City, which has five riverboats and a slot casino at Louisiana Downs, took $65.3 million from gamblers last month, just a tad below the $65.4 million figure recorded in November 2006.

Lake Charles, the other market heavily dependent upon Texas gamblers, won $50.6 million in November, down from $51.8 million in November 2006. That market has three riverboats and the Delta Downs track casino.

The New Orleans market, with two boats, Harrah’s and the Fair Grounds casino, took in $56.5 million. Without the track casino, the market won $55.2 million from gamblers in November 2006.

The two riverboats in Baton Rouge won $17.9 million, down from $18.9 million in November 2006.

The Amelia Belle, which wasn’t open a year ago, took in $4.2 million last month. The Evangeline Downs track casino at Opelousas won $8.4 million last month, up slightly from $8.3 million the previous November.

Shreveport-Bossier City also has faced increased competitive pressure from Indian reservation casinos in Oklahoma that are closer to its prime Texas feeder market of Dallas-Fort Worth.

More competition is on the horizon.

Pinnacle Entertainment Inc. is constructing a second riverboat resort in Lake Charles where the company’s L’Auberge Du Lac resort took in $24.6 million last month – top among the riverboats and trailing only the $32.6 million won by Harrah’s New Orleans.

Pinnacle also is proposing a third riverboat casino for the Baton Rouge market. Voters in East Baton Rouge Parish will vote on that idea on Feb. 9. State law allows 15 riverboats in Louisiana.

The state’s tax take last month was $40.2 million, up slightly from $39 million in November 2006.

The figures do not include the three Indian reservation casinos in Louisiana, which are not required to report their figures publicly.