Louisiana casino revenue is still slow to get back to normal after a tough 2020 was followed up by extreme weather to start 2021.
Louisiana gaming establishments lost 877 million in revenue for 2020 compared to 2019.
“We were closed from March to May so obviously no revenue there, as we got deeper into the summer of 2020 we had hurricanes, then as we got into the winter we had freezing temperatures that were taking water service offline in Lake Charles and Shreveport,” said Louisiana Casino Association President Wade Duty.
Workforce Commission figures show 4,790 employees were laid off from state casinos throughout the course of 2020.
February revenue is down 23.4 percent from 2020. Duty said that’s partially due to the water situation that happened in Shreveport, but also close to the industry’s new normal.
“Once we entered into Phase, call it, 2.5 we saw a return of gaming revenue to somewhere between 75 to 85 percent, but that is only a part of our revenue picture,” said Duty who noted food service and other forms of live entertainment were, and to an extent still are limited.
Some of the biggest revenue losses were seen at Harrah’s in New Orleans. Louisiana’s lone land-based casino was down 40 percent from February of 2020, or 7.4 million dollars.
Duty does not expect revenues to immediately return to normal even after the public health emergency ends because those 50 and older have been staying close to home over the last year.
“Not only is it going to take widespread vaccination but a degree of comfort for folks who have been limited in their movements for well over a year by that point,” said Duty.
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