Columbus Day may be a day of closure for many businesses, but for casinos, it is one of the busiest days in October. With many businesses closed, casinos around the country are expecting large increases in patrons on Monday.
Most financial institutions and government offices are part of the Columbus Day closings and that is good news for casinos. The government agencies have employees who in most cases can only go out to their favorite casinos on the weekend, but the Columbus Day observation gives these gamblers a chance to hit the casinos during the week.
"I have been in the casino since 9:00 (AM) and there are definitely more people here than usual for a Monday," said Ryan Brankel, a regular at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood, Florida. "My guess is there is at least a couple hundred more people than last week."
A similar scene can be found at casinos all across the East Coast. In Pennsylvania, casinos installed table games back in July, and for many patrons, today served as the first time they have been able to play the new games such as blackjack, craps, and roulette. The mood is festive despite some of the gamblers losing money.
"I had a day off today and I've been here for several hours," said Maryanne Kelchin, who along with her friends were at the Rivers Casino in Pennsylvania Monday afternoon. "I've lost a couple hundred dollars playing blackjack, but it still was worth it to come down and see what the hype was about."
On the West Coast, gamblers have already been filing in to casinos in Nevada and California. Gulf Coast casinos in Mississippi and Louisiana are also expecting big crowds throughout the day.
The casinos welcome the Columbus Day crowds as they try to dig out of the financial stresses caused by the economic recession. In many areas of the US, casinos have experienced double digit declines in revenue for many months since the recession.
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