Average Gambler Is Average American

What does the typical gambler look like?

Look around. The people who play in casinos are your friendsand relatives, co-workers and acquaintances.

Harrah's annual survey on the state of the casino industry isout, and once again it finds that the average casino player has a lotin common with everyone else. Casino gamblers are male and female,young and old, slightly more affluent and better educated than theaverage American:Half of casino players are male, half female. That 50-50 splitvaries just slightly from the U.S. population as a whole, in which 52percent are female.The median age of casino players is 47, one year older than thegeneral population.The median household income of casino players is $39,000 a year,compared with $31,000 for the average American household.Among casino players, 52 percent have at least some collegeeducation, with 10 percent having done post-graduate work and another18 percent having earned degrees. In the general population, 48percent have attended college, with post-graduate work for 10 percentand another 17 percent holding degrees.Among casino players, 43 percent are white-collar workers, 31percent blue collar, 16 percent retired, and 10 percent other, whichincludes homemakers and military personnel. In the generalpopulation, 39 percent are white-collar workers, 34 percent bluecollar, 16 percent retired and 11 percent other.The Harrah's survey annually covers both the demographics ofgaming and the attitudes of the U.S. population toward the industry.Findings on demographics and casino visits are based on aquestionnaire developed by the Home Testing Institute and given to asample of 21,370 casino players.Questions dealing with attitudes toward gaming were commissionedby Harrah's as part of the Yankelovich MONITOR, an annual survey ofAmerican values and attitudes conducted by Yankelovich Partners Inc.New this year is a breakdown on the demographics of those whoplay in newer gaming destinations, including Illinois, as opposed tothose who play in the traditional markets of Nevada and New Jersey.The survey finds that players in newer markets tend to more closelyresemble the general population than those in traditional markets -reasonable enough since a trip to the riverboat requires just a shortdrive or train ride, not an airline ticket and a hotel stay.That $39,000 annual household income for casino players breaksdown into $43,000 for those who play in traditional markets, $37,000for those who play in newer jurisdictions. The male/female ratio is50/50 in newer markets, but 51/49 in Nevada and New Jersey. Themedian age of casino players is 46 - same as the general population -in newer jurisdictions, but 48 in the traditional markets.Whereas 54 percent of casino players in the traditionaldestinations have at least some college, the figure is only 50percent in newer markets. And the breakdown by job type is 41percent white collar, 39 percent blue, 15 percent retired and 10percent other, a bit closer to the U.S. average than the 46 percentwhite collar, 28 percent blue, 17 percent retired and 9 percent otheramong traditional market visitors.All those people combined to make 154 million casino visitslast year, up from 125 million in 1994. The explosive growth hasbeen in the newer markets. The 1995 breakdown was 90 million casinovisits in the newer markets, 64 million in the traditionaldestinations. Nevada and New Jersey continue to show steady growth -55 million casino visits in 1993, 60 million in '94 before lastyear's 64 million. But expansion in new jurisdictions has gonethrough the roof - 37 million visits in '93, 65 million in '94 beforethe 90 million last year.Compared with other forms of entertainment, gaming ranks secondto the 177 million attendance for major spectator sports, includingmajor league baseball, pro and college basketball and football, PGAand Senior golf tours and major auto racing series. Amusement parksare third, with 143 million visits.The portion of the survey Harrah's likes to point out has to dowith Americans' attitudes toward gaming. The Yankelovich questionswere asked of a sample of the general population, not just gamblers,and 61 percent responded that casino gaming is "acceptable foranyone." Another 30 percent found it "acceptable for others, but notfor me." Only 9 percent said it was "not acceptable for anyone."In a number that's certain to be cited by industryrepresentatives in the wake of a House bill passed in March toestablish a federal commission to investigate the gaming industry, 78percent said gaming should be regulated by state governments, 18percent by the federal government.And in another key question for the industry, 55 percent agreedthat, "I would favor the introduction of casino gaming in my localcommunity because of its benefits to the local economy." Thepercentage agreeing has increased every year and is up from 41percent in 1992.One more thing: 32 states generated at least 1 million casinovisits last year, led by California (15 million visits). Then comeIllinois, Louisiana and New York (10 million each), Pennsylvania (9million) and Wisconsin (8 million), before you even get to Nevada andNew Jersey (7 million each, about the same as Texas and Minnesota).Where are casino players from? Everywhere.Friday in WeekendPlus: playing slots on a budget.