Harrah’s take in New Orleans declines

Alan Sayre

Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2001 | 11:25 a.m.

NEW ORLEANS -- Louisiana's state-licensed casinos won $140 million from gamblers in January, as a new riverboat in Shreveport upped the floating casinos' take slightly while financially ailing Harrah's New Orleans land casino saw a 15 percent drop in revenue to $18.2 million.

Harrah's blamed its decline on the recognition in January 2000 of $1.7 million in revenues from December 1999; on January 2001 having one less weekend than January 2000 and on fewer visitors to the city for the mid-week Sugar Bowl.

The land casino figure has been closely watched because the gambling hall's owner, JCC Holding Co., says it will likely close April 1 unless the Legislature goes along with a major gambling tax cut and allows the casino to have expanded restaurants and discounted hotel rooms.

In December, the casinos won $145 million. The total for both months followed seasonal patterns in the industry.

The figures do not include winnings from the state's three Indian reservation casinos that are not required to report publicly their gambling revenue.

The five boats in the Shreveport-Bossier City market, the only locale allowed to have unrestricted dockside gambling, won $60.1 million in January.

The pair of two-boat complexes in Lake Charles won $29.8 million, while the three riverboats in the New Orleans area won $23 million, bringing the total take for that market to $41.2 million. The two riverboats in Baton Rouge added $13.9 million.

Lake Charles has seen a recent boost to its market total following the acquisition and remodeling of the Players International complex by Harrah's Entertainment Inc. of Las Vegas, which also owns a boat in Shreveport and 43 percent of Harrah's New Orleans.

Despite its financial troubles, Harrah's New Orleans ranked No. 2 -- behind the Horseshoe Casino in Bossier City -- in winnings. The Horseshoe won $18.7 million.

Gov. Mike Foster is backing a plan to cut Harrah's New Orleans minimum annual tax from $100 million to $50 million during the first year of a new deal. The minimum tax would rise to $60 million the next year. Foster wants the tax to be guaranteed for three years against the casino's closure.

At the same time, the administration is expected to push legislation that would raise the floating casino tax from 18.5 percent of gambling winnings while allowing dockside gambling throughout the state and, possibly, the replacement of riverboats with barges that have more room for slots.

Visitors to the riverboats lost an average of $50.20 each, while visitors to Harrah's New Orleans dropped an average of $40.15.