DROP WAS WORSE IN '08 * Economy blamed for current decline
Jump to full article: Chicago Sun-Times, 2009-06-11
Author: DAVE MCKINNEY Sun-Times Springfield Bureau Chief
Intro: The downdraft Illinois' anti-smoking law may have had on casino revenues appeared to ease up during the first three months of this year, an industry trade group said Wednesday.
Revenues for Illinois' nine casinos fell by 9.3 percent from January through March of this year compared with the first quarter of 2008, the American Gaming Association reported. . . .
In a May report, the industry trade group showed casino revenues in Illinois dropped by a whopping 20.9 percent in 2008 compared with a year earlier, the sharpest decline in the country.
The AGA attributed that decrease largely to the impact of the state's no-smoking policy, which made cigarette smoking off-limits in casinos and other public indoor areas beginning Jan. 1, 2008.
"We believe the majority of decline now is the result of the economy," said Thomas Swoik, executive director of the Illinois Casino Gaming Association. "There is still some backlash from smoking, but we're seeing the numbers getting better."
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