Page 9 - MGHA Annual Report, 2019

STATE 2018 2017
Alabama Arkansas Florida Georgia Illinois
Indiana Kansas Louisiana Michigan Missouri
North Carolina New Jersey Nevada
Ohio
Oklahoma
South Carolina Tennessee
Texas
Other
Out of State Totals Mississippi Totals Totals
2,655,384
2018 VISITATION TRENDS
1,123,851
1,719,120
820,468
274,021
120,052
23,160
3,836,397
145,565
283,899
101,273
113,431
9,292
119,481
64,698
87,052
2,003,169
528,868
976,379
15,005,560
9,154,898
24,160,458
2,483,576
1,084,726
1,653,043
761,369
195,210
97,938
20,419
3,730,828
120,227
199,796
89,597
80,899
8,986
93,668
51,525
79,724
1,687,103
465,918
743,918
13,648,470
8,806,564
22,455,034
OBSERVATIONS
• Tourism continues to be a major economic driver for the state. Bicentennial celebrations took place throughout Mississippi during 2017 that looked back on 200 years of statehood. Celebrations culminated with the openings of both the Museum of Mississippi History and the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum in Jackson in December 2017.
• The newly opened Brandon Amphitheater continues to draw tens of thousands of visitors of Rankin County to see musical acts. The opening of the amphitheater paves the way for ongoing economic growth with more hotels, restaurants and nightlife.
• People from around the world continue to discover Mississippi. They nd it is a great place to visit with lots to offer — everything from history to literature to the blues. Every community in the Magnolia State has its own story to share.
• Mississippi became the fourth state to allow sports betting when the rst sports book opened on Aug. 1, 2018, exactly 26 years to the day when Mississippi’s rst state-licensed casino opened on the Gulf Coast. And, because Mississippi’s sports betting law requires in-person wagering, Gulf Coast casinos saw a September 2018 increase in patrons from Louisiana, Alabama and Georgia, who appear to be avid football fans and bettors. Tunica casinos bene tted as well, enjoying the strongest September in 10 years.
2018
TO MISSISSIPPI CASINOS
STATE
OF THE INDUSTRY