Louisiana Casino Revenue Starting to Grow Again

After being among the last states to have gambling revenue affected by the recession, Louisiana is showing guardedly optimistic results for October casino action.

While year-to-year figures still show a drop in October casino revenue in Louisiana, the increase from September to October is being taken as a hopeful sign that gambling is rebounding. Figures including all state-licensed casinos show a rise in income from the previous month of almost three percent.

Monthly gaming revenue rose from $188.1 million in September to $193.3 in October. While not reaching last year's total in October of $207.7 million, the jump showed Louisiana gambling continues to be the most resilient in the nation.

Louisiana casino action was among the last to feel the effects of the worldwide recession. And now, apparently, the state's gambling may be among the first nationally to return to normal growth patterns.

However a warning sign may have appeared in the state capitol. Baton Rouge, home of a planned third floating casino, reported its two existing casinos to be down by almost 20 percent. That does not auger well for Pinnacle's future location, which already has seen multiple delays in construction.

State gaming officials cautioned that numbers showing gaming growth in Lake Charles are balanced against 2008 figures slanted by hurricane recovery, which had led to unusually small revenue totals.