Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING | February 2009 36 I t’s not news that the economy is in a recession and that Las Vegas, despite all of its glamour and glitz, is feeling the strain. According to published reports, 2008 Nevada gaming revenues, through October, were down nearly 26 percent comparedwith 2007. Talk to any casino executive and they will likely tell you the operating environment is going to remain challenging heading into 2009. In fact, the 2008 decline was the biggest since the state began compiling data 25 years ago. It’s one thing for casinos to get beat at the tables, it’s quite another when players aren’t showing up. But that’s exactly what’s happening, according to the findings of the just-releasedVega$ATIndexSurvey,compiled by Clear Seas Research in partnership with Consumer Opinion Services of Las Vegas and Gaming Strategies + Insights. The independent study, based on interviews conducted with 1,000 visitors to Las Vegas this past fall, offers a number of insights into trends shaping the casino capital today in key areas such as gambling activity, hotel accommodations, dining, shopping and entertainment and the economic dynamics impacting visitor behavior. Visitors were questioned on their attitudes, their spending and the levels of satisfaction they experienced. The research team used a customized PDA technology software program that allows interviewers to conveniently and accurately record feedback from a number of locations on the Las Vegas Strip simultaneously, catching visitors in action when their opinions and perceptions are the most fresh and unbiased. John Thomas, executive director of Clear Seas’ Gaming Insights Practice, describes the effort as a “comprehensive third-party What Happens in Vegas? That is the question for a new poll that measures visitor habits. Vega AT Survey uncovers what they spend, and where