Illinois gamblers cut back on their slot-machine action in 2009.
In a study released Monday about slot-machine spending in four casino markets, the American Gaming Association said one-armed bandits in Illinois, Las Vegas and Atlantic City, N.J., took in less revenue in 2009 than they did in 2008.
In Illinois, total slot machine “win,” or how much the devices keep, fell 8.4 percent, to $1.2 billion. Still, that’s not as bad as the 21.7 percent slot revenue drop that Illinois saw in 2008.Fewer visits to Illinois casinos hurt. In 2009, the state’s casinos had 14.4 million admissions, down 1.5 percent from 2008, when the decline was off 11.4 percent.
Average slot machine spending per visit in Illinois was $86.97, down from $93.53.
Of the four markets in the study, only Iowa’s slot revenue rose, 0.2 percent.
But Illinois’ slot revenue numbers held up better in 2009 than those in Atlantic City and Las Vegas, which saw double-digit percentage drops.
Read the white paper.
Well, if you don’t play then you can’t lose.
And if you play long enough, you are all but sure to lose.
In any case, win or lose, I wish they’d just put the “bl” back into “gam[bl]ing.” “Gaming”? As in, “Let’s go to the casino and do a little gaming!”
That is good news. Fewer idiots gave thier money to greedy corporations and governments and kept in their pockets. I hope the revenues keep dropping.