A hard dose of truth

Every so often, when the economy fails to do their bidding, Wall Street analysts speak wistfully of “pent-up demand” among players. This unicorn-like phenomenon mostly romps in their collective imagination, although occasionally a gaming CEO or two falls into the trap of parroting such nonsense. So, do you wonder why — with all that demand just pent up and seemingly with no good reason for not manifesting itself — why Nevada‘s economic recovery has lagged expectations or why casinos in the Upper Midwest are in the doldrums? At Raving Consulting‘s recent Casino Marketing Conference, three resarchers — Glenn Goulet, Sue Johnson and Michael Meczka — each from a different firm, laid their collected wisdom on the audience. In a larger sense, it reflects the challenges facing America itself. But let’s stick to what Wall Street and the casino industry don’t want to hear. Since the magic year 2007, that apex of fiscal self-hypnosis, the metrics compiled by Johnson, Meczka and Goulet are as follows …

• Household income down 6.4%
• Consumer credit debt rising
• Net worth down 28%
• Median value of stocks down 33%
• Primary residence down 15%
• Home equity vanishing; no longer a piggy bank
• One of four 50+ struggle to afford housing, food, prescription drugs
• Job fears — unemployment rate >10%
• Retirement fears
• 1 of 4 postponing retirement

And there’s plenty more. Meczka asserts that consumers “are definitely in the driver’s seat,” in terms of getting casinos to market toward their increasingly straitened means. But the anecdotal information I’m getting from players is that Big Gaming hasn’t gotten the message … yet.