I am not a business expert, an accountant, or even good at math. I a vigorous practitioner of the art of common sense. That's why I am so totally not shocked that casino revenue is down across the state's licensed casinos.

Why am I not shocked?

Our state legislature has been waving potential gaming revenue through the state directly to Mississippi by not passing legislation that would allow sports wagering. Legislators in Mississippi had their sports wagering plan in place before the Supreme Court even legalized it. So when the High Court cleared the path for wagering on sports outside of Nevada Mississippi was one of the first in line. 

Industry experts say casino revenues are off 13% in Baton Rouge, 10% in Lake Charles, 11.6% in Shreveport, and five percent in New Orleans. In my mind, those numbers directly correlate to the gambler that wants a full casino experience. You can't get that in Louisiana but you can just a short drive away in Mississippi.

Until the legislature figures out that businesses in Louisiana need to be able to compete on equal or better footing than their out of state competitors we will see revenues continue to slip. I can only imagine how many would-be Louisiana visitors will become guests in Mississippi during college football weekends.

Just imagine, wake up, go downstairs and bet on LSU to whip Alabama. Get in your car in Biloxi and drive to Baton Rouge to watch the game live. Drive back to Biloxi, cash your ticket on the way to your room, spend your winnings playing blackjack in a state that is not our own.

I wonder which industry the legislature will passive-aggressively dismember next? I hope it's the industry where state tourism dollars are spent only to support events in New Orleans and Baton Rouge because to our legislature there appear to be no other places in the state.