• Casinos industry booms despite hurricanes

By KATHLEEN HENNESSEY December 13, 2005 - LAS VEGAS (AP) - Neither rain nor regulation appears to be holding back the sprawling gambling industry, casino lobbyist Walton Chalmers told tourism officials Tuesday in a "state of the industry" address. The loss of several Gulf Coast casinos to hurricane damage was a tragic setback in a year otherwise marked by huge profits, consolidation and domestic and overseas expansion, said Chalmers, the vice president of the American Gaming Association. Gross gambling revenues in the 445 commercial casinos in the United States increased 7 percent in 2004 to $29 billion. Mergers created three of the four largest gambling companies in the world. Surveys have found more than 90 percent of elected officials and civic leaders believe casinos in their communities have exceeded their expectations, Chalmers said in a speech at the annual Nevada Gov.'s Conference on Tourism. "Markets from Atlantic City to Kansas City are witnessing an increase in capital investment, creating more rooms and more amenities for an increasingly sophisticated clientele," he said. Regulators in Pennsylvania and Broward County, Fla., are expected to approve plans to introduce slot machines there this year, Chalmers said, and expansion into Asia - largely Macau and Singapore - promises to bring more success. Tapping into Asian markets was the focus of the conference, which was attended by 700 delegates and Chinese tourism officials. Xiqin Zhang, vice chairman of the China National Tourism Administration, told delegates that the Chinese were increasing their time and money spent traveling abroad. By October 2005, 460,000 people had secured visas in China to visit the U.S. - nearly twice as many as in 2004. In June 2004, the Nevada Commission on Tourism became the first U.S. tourism group and only state agency licensed to promote itself in China. The agency spends $150,000 a year on advertising in the communist country, all without mentioning gambling. China's leaders officially oppose gambling, and most wagering has been banned on the mainland since the 1949 communist revolution. "To be honest, when we go to China we don't mention gambling," commission Director Bruce Bommarito said. Bommarito said the commission instead promotes the state's luxury resorts and adventure tourism. The group also continues to lobby airlines for direct flights from Beijing. "I see China, as we look down the road, as Nevada's Comstock Lode for tourism," commission chair Lt. Gov. Lorraine Hunt said. Chinese tourists stay longer on their U.S. visits and spend more - an average of $5,200, Bommarito said. The average tourist to Las Vegas budgets $665 for non-gambling expenses, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. Gov. Kenny Guinn, who opened the conference, praised the group for "thinking big" and drawing visitors from abroad. He noted the tourism industry's shift from dependence on gambling to entertainment. Tourism generates $40 billion in Nevada each year, 25 percent of it coming from gambling. Still, Guinn encouraged visitors to try their luck. "Go ahead and lose as much as you want," he said, adding that taxes on casino revenues fund state education programs. "It's slots for tots." Chalmers commended the gambling industry for supporting its workers after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita destroyed or closed several casinos along the Gulf Coast and left thousands of casino employees out of the work. The gambling association's relief fund raised $600,000 for the casino workers, he said. But casinos were left out of bill that passed the House that gives tax breaks to companies helping to rebuild the region. "We fully expect this matter to be resolved in gaming's favor once the legislation is finalized in a House-Senate conference committee," Chalmers said. The association, the chief industry lobbyist, also is monitoring policies on Internet gambling, privacy and security, smoking bans and regulations barring slot machines at racetracks, he said.

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