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Monday, June 08, 2015

Casinos bet on growth in table games, removing slot machines to make room

Slot machines, long the reliable soldier of gambling, are losing ground in Maryland’s casinos as younger gamblers seek out table games and older players can’t keep the slot stools filled.

Over the past 15 months, Maryland’s three largest casinos — Maryland Live, Horseshoe Casino Baltimore and Hollywood Casino Perryville — have kicked 1,350 slot machines to the curb. That’s a 16 percent cut to their slots to make room for more table games, restaurant space, entertainment and other amenities, all of which are increasing in value to casinos as interest in slots slides, particularly among millennials.

Traditionally a cash cow for the industry, slots are losing some of their appeal in lots of places around the country. It’s a trend that has casino executives concerned and busy dreaming up new ways to bolster slot games and make them more attractive. The dominance of slots has waned even in the gambling stronghold of Nevada, where the number of machines has dropped from a high of 217,000 in 2001 to 175,000 last year. And slot earnings have fallen there as well: Nevada casinos experienced a 20 percent reduction in slot revenue between 2007 and 2014, according to the Center for Gaming Research at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas.

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6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Retirees wasting their money is why revenues are up.

Anonymous said...

What else are we supposed to do with it?, Leave it to our ungrateful kids?

Anonymous said...

Some may be wasting their money, others may budget a certain amount as entertainment rather than going out to dinner or to concerts or the boardwalk. To each hie own. Don't like it, then don't go!

Anonymous said...

4:18 instead of helping me you left me to live in poverty. Should I be grateful for that? You would rather buy gifts for some fake impoverished welfare family with their big screens and satellite, than help your own.
Speaks volumes. You do not wear greed well. I wonder what would Jesus have done?

Anonymous said...

Like Lottery....only fools rush in.

Anonymous said...

4:49 Jesus might have played 17 on roulette!