Congratulations, you beat the casinos at their own game. And it was so easy, anyone could do it. But you didn’t beat them at Blackjack, Roulette, Craps or slot machines. How did you do it? By not going.


That’s right, you Won! Casinos, and shares of casino related companies are suffering in 2008 because you stayed home. Marketwatch reported last week that:

It’s now clear that fewer people are going to Las Vegas — and the ones who do are staying for shorter periods and spending less. In June, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, volume was off 3.1%, an accelerated slip that finally dragged the year-to-date figure into negative territory, down 0.5% to 19.5 million.
Hotel occupancy was off 2.5% for the month, but it took a lot of discounting to keep the drop that modest as average daily room rates, or ADRs, plunged 16% in June.
The stock price of MGM Mirage has seen a 77 percent downfall from its high in October($99.75) of last year to its 2008 low on July 10th ($69.94). MGM wholly owns 23 casino resorts, including a handful of Las Vegas names such as MGM Grand Las Vegas, Mandalay Bay, The Mirage, Luxor, Treasure Island (TI), New York-New York, Excalibur, Monte Carlo, Circus Circus Las Vegas and Slots-A-Fun. Even the ritzy Wynn is suffering, showing a 58% stock price correction between the high in October 2007($167.90) to its July 10th low of 69.94.
Keep up the good work everyone, and enjoy your Staycations!