Casino Gambling and this Terrible Terrorist Attack
By Howard Berenbon
After the tragedy of September 11, with the
horrendous loss of life at the World Trade Center complex in New York and the
destruction at the Pentagon, will casino gambling survive the pending human and
economic hardship?
Immediately
after the attack, all Detroit-area casinos reported a sharp reduction in
visitors. However, two weeks after the tragedy, MotorCity Casino, MGM Grand and
Greektown Casino reported that attendance is back to normal, or even above
normal. This isn't the case for Casino Windsor. Since they depend on about 80
percent of their gamblers coming from Detroit, Casino Windsor hasn't rebounded
enough. Part of problem is that people in Detroit don't want to wait in the
long lines at the Ambassador Bridge and the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel, and they
just want to stay home. This was a traumatic experience for everyone and we're
all still mourning the losses.
Las Vegas Casinos have been affected
differently. They depend on tourists arriving by jet plane and the airline
industry is hurting. Conventions have been canceled; and people are not yet
traveling with confidence because of the threat of continued terrorism.
However, some economists in Nevada are confident that this war on terrorism
won't affect their economy. They may be correct. Already, travel to Las Vegas
is approaching some normalcy since the attack, which is, in part, due to
recently initiated low cost airfares and bargain room rates to get people back.
Only time will tell.
This was an appalling act of terrorism on the
United States that I hope we can work to prevent it from happening again. It
may take months, or even years for all of us in the United States (and other
caring countries) to heal from the horrible act, but we will go on. Until that
happens, people may be reluctant to leave home by jet plane for distant gambling
destinations. This could result in a boon for casinos here in Michigan. Again,
only time will tell
