August was Declining Month
August 2016 as compared to August 2015 showed the calendar losing a Saturday and Sunday while gaining a Tuesday and Wednesday. Formost regional properties the net effect of the calendar change equates to a range of a decline of-3% to -4% to last year. For August-16 vs August-15, nationwide markets showed more states declining and resulted in declining -1% overall which is not bad considering the calendar.
2016 National Gaming Growth Forecast
The drivers for the casino gaming industry: employment, income and gas prices are in a favorable position although we see gas prices gaining in but still around or under $2.25/gallon.However, with inflation tracking at +2% to +3% there is little “real” wage/income growth. We are maintaining our 2016 gaming forecast range to growth of between +1% to +3%. Prior to July 2016, YTD had maintained a +2% growth rate, as of August 2016 that drops to 1.4%. Recent News/Trends: Massachusetts is showing its second consecutive decline over its first full year-over-year comparison. Mississippi – In August-16, the gulf coast (+1%) gained while river cities declined. The small <$1M gain does not bode well for the Gulf Coast as a new facility was added to Gulf market in Dec-2015. In neighboring Louisiana, all markets are experiencing declining results and in August 2016, those losses worsened from prior periods.Florida is not showing a gain, despite Dania coming back online in Jan-2016.
Jay Sarno has 20+ years of experience in the Hospitality and Gaming Industry. Jay consults on casino marketing segmentation programs, software product development and technology solutions evaluations, selections and implementations. Jay has implemented over 20 data warehouse systems and currently also teaches courses in Hospitality Management for Richard Stockton College of NJ. Jay can be reached at JSA2002@comcast.net and welcomes your comments and questions.