New Orleans casino winnings about the same

Alan Sayre

Tuesday, April 18, 2000 | 9:43 a.m.

NEW ORLEANS - Louisiana's 13 riverboat casinos and the New Orleans casino won $150.5 million from gamblers in March, up from $144.7 million in February.

State police figures released Tuesday show Harrah's New Orleans Casino won $20.5 million, about the same as February's $20.4 million, which had two fewer days. The floating casinos won $130 million in March, up from $124.3 million in February.

The Horseshoe Casino in Bossier City won the most last month, taking in $21.6 million from gamblers.

Typically, March is a busy month for casinos, a trend some industry analysts say is due to players receiving their income tax refunds.

The New Orleans casino's performance is still below what many analysts say is needed for the project to succeed. Because of the casino's $100 million minimum annual tax to the state, break-even projections range from $21 million to $25 million in monthly winnings, while forecasts of up to $31 million monthly have been made for long-term success.

Earlier this month, the casino's owner, JCC Holding Co., said in its annual filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that, under current financial restraints, the casino might never be profitable.

The chief minority partner of JCC Holding, Las Vegas-based Harrah's Entertainment Inc., has been paying the casino's $274,000 daily tax bill to the state to free up capital for the casino.

The New Orleans casino reported 749,900 visitors in March, while the riverboats had 2,226,916 admissions. The state took in $8.5 million in taxes from the land casino and $24 million from the riverboats.