AZ's gaming declining

Phoenix - It could be gasoline prices. Or maybe worries about continued employment.

But something is causing Arizonans to drop a just a little bit less at tribal casinos.

New figures Wednesday from the Arizona Gaming Department show that the revenue the tribes share with the state from their casinos was about $24.4 million for the first three months of 2008. That is down about 0.8 percent from the same period a year earlier.

Locally, Cocopah Casino reports having seen a slight decrease recently, while officials with Paradise Casinos declined to comment on how the economy may be impacting their business.

"Cocopah Casino has seen slight decreases," said Liz Pratt, director of communications for the Cocopah Indian Tribe, "but whether or not it's because of the time of year or tighter spending from customers, that really can't be decided for sure."

Barrett DeFay, marketing director for Paradise Casinos, declined to describe current business trends. DeFay instead said: "When everything was better two years ago, we didn't have to be as aggressive to draw customers in. We've been pretty progressive with our promotions and entertainment lately."

Pratt and DeFay both stressed that casinos aren't unlike other business ventures, especially those dealing with entertainment of any kind.

"When the economy tends to be down for the rest of entertainment industry, the same holds true in the casino industry as well," DeFay said.

That is the first time this has happened since the state began keeping these records in 2003. While there was tribal gaming for a decade before that, there was no sharing of revenues with the state - and therefore no public record.

Figures on how much actually passes through slot machines and gaming tables on tribal reservations is secret. But the revenue sharing, based on a formula set in statute, is the best indicator of how much money the tribes are taking in.

Sheila Morago, executive director of the Arizona Indian Gaming Association, said she believes the downturn is directly related to the economy.

"People are having a rough time. You're talking about an industry that relies solely on disposable income.''

Morago said everyone is worried about paying for gasoline that is now approaching $3.50 a gallon for regular. Then there are mortgage payments and grocery costs being driven up by higher food prices.

"And so it's a little tough right now,'' Morago said. "People are holding a little tighter on their disposable income. Or they have less of it.''

The problem, apparently, is not limited to gaming on Indian reservations.

Art Macias, director of the Arizona Lottery, said overall revenues for the first three months of this year are up 2.45 percent from the same period a year earlier.

But Macias said most of that increase is due to having a large "pick'' jackpot earlier this year. Those large prizes tend to bring in more wages. In fact, sales of these kind of lotto tickets soared from $12.3 million in the first three months of 2007 to $19 million this year.

By contrast, sale of "scratchers'' and other instant winner tickets are down nearly 2.2 percent. Macias said that's not surprising.

"That's probably our most economically sensitive product as opposed to jackpot-driven drawing games."

Macias said he sees a direct link between the skyrocketing price of gasoline and the softer scratch ticket sales. He said people who might otherwise go into the convenience store after filling up the tank to buy a ticket now are having second thoughts.

Alan Meister, an economist with Analysis Group who specializes in gaming issues, said he does not put a lot of stock in single-quarter figures. "They fluctuate from here to there."

Meister said he wants to see the numbers for the second three months of the year before trying to determine if there is a trend. Meister said while a soft economy might have some effect on individual gaming habits, there also are those who suggest gambling is "recession-proof.''


----
Sun staff writer Darin Fenger contributed to this report.