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IN BUSINESS ECONOMY ANALYSTS SAY 2012 CASINO INDUSTRY FORECAST IS BRIGHT By Steve Green senior staff writer Analysts at accounting firm PwC have boosted their growth projection for Nevada's casino industry. In the PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP) annual gaming forecast distributed last week, the firm projected Nevada gaming win of $10.4 billion in 2010 to reach $10.7 billion this year and then expand to just shy of $13 billion by 2015. The 2015 projection would about equal the level reached in 2007 — the high-water mark for Nevada casinos before the recession. That figure represents an annual growth rate of 4.9 percent. By comparison, PwC a year ago projected an annual growth of 4.1 percent over five years. "The momentum generated in 2010 (a 0.1 percent increase) is carrying over in 2011 and we project that the market will increase by 2.8 percent for 2011 as a whole," PwC said in its report. The PwC forecast for Nevada gaming revenue in the next few years is aggressive, with its analysts expecting growth of 4.1 percent in 2012 and 4.6 percent in 2013. Projections for gaming taxes in the state budget, in comparison, are for growth of 2.5 percent in fiscal year 2012 and 2.7 percent in fiscal year 2013. Despite the higher projected growth rate in Nevada casino revenue, PwC expects Nevada's share of the $57.5 billion U.S. gaming market to decline MEDIA FORMER LAS VEGAS SUN BUSINESS EDITOR, COLUMNIST DIES By Richard N. Velotta senior staff writer Jeff Simpson, one of the most respected reporters on the gaming industry, died Dec. 3 of complications from emergency heart surgery. He was 51. Simpson, a former business editor at the Las Vegas Sun and In Business Las Vegas, the predecessor of VEGAS INC, wrote for the Two Way Hard Three blog on the casino industry and was a member of the "Vegas Gang," a podcast that discusses gaming topics. All are affiliated with ratevegas.com, which he joined in June 2010. Simpson moved to Las Vegas from Florida in 1999 and was a business reporter at the Las Vegas Review- Journal, taking on the gaming beat. He left the Review-Journal for the Sun in 2004, writing a business column and 8 editorials for its business weekly, In Business Las Vegas. He won awards for his reporting and writing while at both newspapers. He also made regular appearances on "Nevada Week in Review," Las Vegas public broadcast television show on state issues, and on KNPR's "State of Nevada" radio show. A statement from Simpson's family said his biggest passion in life was the gaming industry. "As an editor and reporter covering Las Vegas gaming for over a decade, he truly loved learning the secrets and intricacies of the business from people like Steve Wynn, Michael Gaughan and Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta," the statement said. Simpson frequently spoke with Wynn about how he didn't expect Adelson to be able to get a gaming license in Singapore. Adelson got the license, and the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore today is one of the most successful casino resort properties in the world. Both lawsuits were dismissed. Simpson was an avid poker player PASSION FOR GAMING: Jeff Simpson "truly loved learning the secrets and intricacies" of the gaming industry, his family said. and broke several stories because of that relationship. One of his career highlights was covering the opening of the Wynn Macau in 2006. But not everyone in the industry was enamored with Simpson. He was sued twice by Las Vegas Sands chairman Sheldon Adelson for a column he wrote and had aspirations to play in the World Series of Poker, an event he frequently covered. He also enjoyed playing craps and was an avid fan of Cleveland sports teams, having grown up in Olmstead Falls, Ohio, and having received a degree in history from Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio. Simpson is survived by his girlfriend of seven years, Jazmin Casing; his brother Jon Simpson; father, Robert Simpson, and four nieces. | 12 DECEMBER 2011 | slightly through 2015 because of competition from Asia and as regional casinos pop up in populous U.S. markets such as Massachusetts and potentially Florida. PwC numbers show Nevada's market share declining from 18 percent in 2010 to 17.66 percent in 2015. "The steel skeletons of uncompleted developments still scar the Las Vegas skyline, and operators are facing the residual effects of high unemployment in California," PwC said in the report. "The emergence of major resort casinos in Asia Pacific — often (as in Macau) operated by U.S.-based companies — will divert some of the U.S.'s overseas-derived business to that region. As the U.S.'s major international casino gaming center, Nevada will be disproportionately affected. Consequently, even when the economy returns to healthy growth, we do not expect Nevada to record increases comparable to prior gains achieved during periods of economic expansion," the report said. On other issues, PwC said it expected the U.S. casino market, currently the world's largest, to be overtaken by Asia in 2013. And the "elephant in the room" is online gaming, said PwC, which didn't offer an estimate for the size of that market. "The fog of uncertainty that surrounds the size, scope, and often the legal basis of online gaming makes it hard to STAFF FILE ROAD TO RECOVERY: A new report says gaming win in Nevada will increase to nearly $13 billion by 2015. assess its current and future impacts, or to plan strategies around it," PwC commented. "What is clear is that the elephant in the room is not going to go away. Governments and regulators have an absolute need to create certainty and consumer protection around online gaming, while ensuring this activity is fairly taxed. This may take years, but it must eventually happen."