Casino Closures Take Chunk Out Of May Winnings

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) – Flooding along the Mississippi River took a chunk out of Mississippi’s state-licensed casino winnings in May. High water caused lengthy closures for most of the 19 riverfront casinos. As a result, those casinos won only $41 million last month, compared with $107.8 million in May 2010 and $101.8 million in April 2011. The 11 Gulf Coast casinos, which weren’t affected by flooding, won $96.2 million last month for a statewide May total of $137.2 million – down 32.4% from $203.1 million in May 2010. The coastal casinos won $95.3 million in May 2010 and $87.4 million in April 2011. The statewide tally for April 2011 was $189.3 million.