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Revenue falls at Riviera Holdings casinos

Less money was spent in Riviera Holdings casinos during the first three months of 2008 than in the corresponding period from the previous year, it has emerged.

The company announced that net revenue at Riviera Las Vegas and Riviera Black Hawk were down 5.3 per cent and 15.1 per cent respectively.

Riviera Black Hawk in Colorado is considerably smaller than its Las Vegas cousin but despite this its drop in earnings was actually greater during the first quarter of the year.

William L Westerman, Riviera's chief executive, said changes to state regulations were among the reasons why the casino was so badly hit.

"Record-high gas prices, access issues due to neighboring construction problems, a state-wide smoking ban in casinos in Colorado and a weakened economy all contributed to lower consolidated financial results in our first quarter of 2008," he explained.

The two casinos generated $48 million in net revenue in total, a variation of 5.3 per cent on 2007's figures.

Riviera is one of a number of US gaming operators to suffer a deterioration in its revenue this year, following on from companies such as Harrah's Entertainment and Wynn Resorts.