Calif. tribal casinos struggle, revs outpace Vegas

By Deena Beasley

LOS ANGELES, June 22 (Reuters) - California's Indian casinos, like their counterparts in Las Vegas, have struggled as strapped consumers cut back on spending, but slot machines are still the main draw so the hit has been less severe.

Regional casinos have also benefited as some people put off bigger trips, opting inside to visit a resort close to home.

Gambling -- mostly slots -- accounts for about 90 percent of revenue at tribal casinos, according to industry sources.

On the Las Vegas Strip, where the trend for the past couple decades has been extras like entertainment, fine dining and high-end shopping, gambling now represents only around 40 percent of total revenue.

"Entertainment doesn't drive the casino," said John Momaney, interim marketing manager at the Morongo Casino, Resort & Spa on the outskirts of Palm Springs. "Here it seems like people just go home after the show."

The Riverside County region, known as California's Inland Empire, has been extremely hard hit by collapsing prices in an overbuilt local housing market and consequent job losses.

Before the latest recession, Morongo and others invested millions in amenities designed to attract visitors.

The Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians earlier this year opened a 2,000-seat theater, dubbed The Show, at its second casino, the Agua Caliente Casino, Resort, Spa in Rancho Mirage, just east of Palm Springs. Performers range from Tony Bennett to Jamie Foxx.

"If we can break even on sales of tickets and make money on the casino, we've done our job," said David Fendrick, the chief operating officer for the tribe's resorts.

The tribe also operates a smaller casino hotel in neighboring Palm Springs.

For gamblers, "it's all about how quickly can I get into action," Fendrick said.

CUSTOMERS SPENDING LESS

He said about half of casino customers come from a radius of 50 miles or so, with most of the rest from Los Angeles and Southern California's Orange County, with a small number from the fly-in "outer market."

"People are still coming, but they are not spending as much or staying as long," said Jacob Coin, a spokesman for the San Manuel band of Mission Indians, which operates a casino in Highland.

Nationwide, Indian tribes collected $26.7 billion in gambling revenue last year, an increase of 2.3 percent from 2007, according to recent statistics from the National Indian Gaming Commission.