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.
Howard Berenbon
