In order for casinos not to fall victim to the current financial crisis, they will have to steer closely to the shore. Financing new projects have become virtually impossible as credit has become very expensive and virtually unobtainable. At an industry conference, Gary Loveman, CEO of Harrahs Entertainment Inc, told fellow casino operators that casinos will have to change their modus operandi for the foreseeable future if not permanently if they wish to survive the current financial crisis.

He said that casinos are known for their audacious spending and zealous development of new properties in order to stay competitive. However, given the current circumstances of falling revenues and high cost credit, they will have to concentrate on tightening their operations to remain profitable.

Manufacturers like International Game Technology will have to revisit existing casino clients to upgrade existing equipment instead of looking for new casinos to add to their customer list. Even getting old customers to buy equipment is going to be a gargantuan task as most casinos are having to rethink their budgets to compensate for a reduced cashflow.

International Game Technology is the world's largest maker of slot machines and casino management systems. They announced last week that they will be offering about 500 employees (or 8% of their total work force) an early retirement or severance package. This will reduce the company's monthly bill by approximately $21 million.

As fuel prices have risen and casino visits have fallen, casinos will have to look to existing properties to maintain their bottomline.