Analyst: Day-tripper market probably is tapped out

Wednesday, Jan. 15, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

Louisiana's 14 riverboat casinos took $93.5 million from gamblers in December, down slightly from November's $100.3 million, according to state police figures. The state's latest monthly tax take was $17.3 million.

Over the past year, the monthly figure for money won by the riverboats has ranged from about $93 million to $105 million. And for an industry currently dependent upon day-trippers, that's probably the upper boundary, said Larry Pearson, publisher of the Riverboat Gaming Report.

"Shreveport-Bossier City and Lake Charles will remain flat until they get hotels in there," Pearson said.

In Shreveport-Bossier City, the market's latest entry lagged behind its more-established trio of competitors in December. Casino Magic, which opened in late October, won only $3.1 million of the $38.7 million pulled in by the market's four riverboats in December. The casinos drew 852,539 visitors.

Casino Magic has been plagued by high water on the Red River, which forced it to close on two major holidays. Company officials say they expect a parking garage and pavilion that opened recently to bring the boat into the competitive fray.

However, Hilton Hotels Corp. plans to move its Flamingo riverboat from New Orleans to Shreveport later this year, berthing it beside Harrah's casino. And four of the five pending license applications for the state's 15th and final riverboat would put the casino in Shreveport-Bossier City.

With the Flamingo's planned departure, New Orleans Steamboat Co., stands a good chance of nabbing the license for a small casino in the New Orleans suburb of Chalmette, Pearson said.

"The addition of the 14th license didn't do much and we have a 15th license to go," Pearson said.

The four boats in the New Orleans area drew 551,195 visitors and won $24.3 million from gamblers, while the four boats in Lake Charles - paired off between the Isle of Capri and Players International - won $20.7 million from 553,103 visitors.

The Lake Charles riverboats face stiff competition from Grand Casino on the Coushatta tribal reservation. That land casino is not required to publicly report its revenue figures.

The two floating casinos in Baton Rouge won $9.8 million from 223,314 visitors.