The economy in the United States is still paying havoc with the casino and gaming industry. While there may be subtle signs of hope in the American economy it is moving at a snails pace and the trickle down effect has become more of a slow drip. The casino and the casino resort industry may be one of the bottom plops of the trickle down. Many sectors of the economy must improve before consumer confidence can improve. Most people won’t go out and spend money if they feel they don’t make enough or they aren’t sure how much longer they will have a job. Everyone is saving for a rainy day. The definitely won’t spend money on extras like trips, hotel rooms and gambling.
The casino and casino resort industry is starting to post their results for the second quarter. Not surprisingly, the numbers are not good. Stock prices for most of the casino resort companies and casino suppliers are down. Las Vegas based financial consultant, Applied Analysis, tracks ten major casino companies. Seven of those ten saw double digit declines. The worst to be hit were the casino suppliers. If the casinos, themselves, aren’t doing well, what can those who work for the casinos expect? Companies like International Game Technology, WMS Industries, and Ball Technologies all saw drops between 10.5 and 14 percent in their stock prices.
The casinos companies of course took a hit. Boyd Gaming was the biggest. Their daily stock prices nose dived 22 percent. Some of the bigger companies were able to break their fall with their overseas interests. Las Vegas Sands Corporation and Wynn Resorts Ltd. both have major properties in Macau and Sands recently opened Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. This helped slow the fall as the Asian market is booming right now. However, stock prices were still down without much help in sight. The economy in the U.S. may be picking up, but will it pick up fast enough?
