Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Macau. The first thing that usually pops into people’s minds when they hear the names of these three cities is casinos – their lavish casinos, offering countless gambling options. And that is probably the only thing they have in common.
Each of these three cities has its own character and ways of alluring visitors to its venues. Moreover, they all cope with the current global economic situation in a different manner. While Las Vegas seems to be slowly but steadily recovering from last decade’s recession, Atlantic City is currently struggling to keep its suffering casino economy going. As for Macau, despite the fact that during the past several years, it has been generating much more substantial gaming revenues as compared to those yielded in the aforementioned cities, the Chinese administrative region is facing its own demons.
And here is how the world’s three most emblematic gambling destinations did in 2014 and what can be expected from them in the years to come.
Las Vegas Strip
Currently, there are 41 operating casinos on the Las Vegas Strip. Unsurprisingly, the city’s gambling industry was seriously hit by the global economic crisis. Yet, it appears that it is gradually recovering, although it still cannot reach its pre-recession levels.
Last year, for instance, casinos on the Las Vegas Strip generated the amount of $6.4 billion in gaming revenues. However, the 2007 peak with gaming revenues totaling $6.83 billion has not been reached yet. And, in fact, the city posted a drop as compared to the revenues yielded back in 2013 ($6.5 billion).
Las Vegas officials decided that both the Strip and the city, as a whole, should become less reliant on its gambling industry in the years to come. This is why operators are expected to gradually focus their attention on the entertainment and leisure industry.
And this switch of focus seems quite logical, given the fact that, according to official reports, hotels on the Strip generated the amount of $4.25 billion in 2014. What is more, retail and entertainment brought $2.35 billion.
Atlantic City
Although the prognoses for Las Vegas are quite optimistic, things are bit different for Atlantic City, America’s second most popular gambling destination. Experts claim that the city had its worst year for quite some time. It saw four (Atlantic Club, Showboat, Revel, Trump Plaza) of its twelve casinos shut down. And the worst part is that almost 8,000 casino workers remained unemployed.
Trump Taj Mahal was really close to becoming the fifth venue to be shuttered, but was almost miraculously saved by billionaire investor Carl Icahn.
Gaming revenue fell for an eight consecutive year in 2014. The total amount of $2.7 billion was generated out of gambling activities. By comparison, casinos earned almost twice as much in 2006.
Some attribute the significant financial losses Atlantic City is currently enduring to the fact that it is no longer able to allure its residents to the local gambling venues. What is more, unlike Las Vegas, it was unable to turn itself into a major entertainment and leisure destination.
Macau
It could be said that Macau is the most thriving gambling destination at present. Its 35 operating casinos generated the total amount of $44.1 billion in 2014. Although this is seven times more than what venues on the Las Vegas Strip earned, the gambling industry of the Chinese administrative region is actually experiencing its first downturn for quite some time.
Back in December 2014, the city posted an unparalleled 30.4% year-on-year drop in gaming revenue. What is more, the annual revenue fell 2.6%. No fall in yearly profits has been recorded since 2001.
January was the eighth consecutive month of year-on-year declines in revenue from gaming activities. Experts predict that this downtrend is likely to continue in the months to come.
The reasons for the casino industry’s downturn are several. In the first place, Chinese President Xi Jinping commenced a massive anti-corruption campaign. This resulted in a significant decrease in the number of VIP players from Mainland China who traveled to Macau to play their favorite games.
Moreover, President Jinping pointed out that the city should become less dependent on its gambling industry and diversify the entertainment options it offers to its foreign visitors.
The government of Macau is currently discussing the opportunity to implement a full smoking ban within the premises of all casinos on the territory of the city. Some believe that this will further contribute to the drop in the number of VIP players. Yet, only time can tell what is going to happen.
