Carlos Bueno and his wife, Mayra, drove three times last year from their home in Houston to a casino in Lake Charles, La., but they won't be making the two-hour drive this summer.

"Gas prices are the main reason," says the 32-year-old father of three children who works for a utility company and also is canceling the family's annual vacation to the Dominican Republic. "The economy is harsh right now, and the little money saved for vacation will have to be spent on fuel for our vehicle."

Bueno says he spent about $1,500 on his casino trips last year, and it costs about $70 a week to fill the gas tank of his Nissan Altima.

The pressures of a weak economy — concerns about job security and rising prices for gas, food, home heating oil and other goods and services — are causing many gamblers to cancel or reduce the number of casino trips. Those who go are gambling less money than in the past: At the traditional gambling meccas of Atlantic City, N.J., and Las Vegas, and in other states, casino revenue is down. Employees are being laid off, and there's concern about future growth.

It's quite a jolt for a gaming industry that has experienced unprecedented growth. Only one state had casinos in 1970 with revenues of $540 million. Now there are casinos in 37 states, with revenues reaching nearly $58 billion in 2006.

"People have been saying for years that the gaming industry is recession-proof, but that's not a valid statement," says Frank Fahrenkopf, CEO of the American Gaming Association, which represents casinos and manufacturers. "Anything that hurts consumer spending will have an impact on us."

Gaming operators are also being hurt by public smoking bans that discourage smokers from going to casinos or cause them to spend less time gambling there. And some casinos are being increasingly challenged by new competitors in nearby states.

"Everybody is in at least a little bit of pain," says Robert LaFleur, a gaming/lodging analyst for Susquehanna Financial Group.

In Las Vegas, several gaming companies report that first-quarter revenue declined. Occupancy at hotels and motels dropped slightly, and room rates have fallen.

In Atlantic City, casino revenue last year fell for the first time since the first casino opened in 1978. Revenue dropped 5.7 percent last year and is down 6.4 percent in the first quarter this year, says Linda Kassekert, chairwoman of the New Jersey Casino Control Commission.

At Mohegan Sun, the Native American casino in Connecticut that brings in more revenue than any other casino in the U.S., slots revenue during this year's first three months was down compared with the same months last year.

In Colorado, the state gaming division said last month that revenue at casinos took its biggest hit since a statewide smoking ban was implemented in January. March revenue fell 10 percent, compared with March 2007.

A smoking ban also affected gaming operators in Illinois, where business declined for the first two months of 2008. The economy and bad winter weather were other factors.

Bill Lerner, senior gaming and lodging analyst at Deutsche Bank Securities, says the weak economy has affected gaming industry revenue and profits more than anticipated. Las Vegas gaming and hotel revenues "are seemingly worsening," and regional casino markets "are faring a bit worse," he says.

No casino "has been immune," but upscale ones such as Wynn, Bellagio and the Venetian in Las Vegas have been less affected, Lerner says.

Casinos in Lake Charles, La., have "fared well," he says, because they depend on customers from Houston, where the oil industry is healthy.

But even the upscale markets are feeling the pinch. At the Wynn Las Vegas, first-quarter revenue was $125 million, down from $173 million in last year's first quarter.

MORE TROUBLE AHEAD

The weak economy caused Las Vegas hotel and motel occupancy to drop from 88 percent during the first two months last year to 87 percent during the same months this year, says Kevin Bagger of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. Average daily room rates in January and February 2008 fell nearly 4 percent, compared with the same months last year, he says.

Boyd Gaming owns 16 casinos in six states. The company reported last week that 2008 first-quarter revenue declined 5 percent to 6 percent at its nine Las Vegas properties. Revenue at its other casinos fell 13 percent or was flat.

Atlantic City gaming operators have other troubles besides the economy: Smoking will be banned in casinos beginning Oct. 15. A partial ban already restricts smoking to 25 percent of the casino floor. Many gamblers who smoke have taken their business to slot parlors in the Philadelphia area.

Donald Trump, chairman of Trump Entertainment Resorts, which operates three Atlantic City casinos, has called on casinos to file a lawsuit against the ban.

Trump Entertainment Resorts said slot revenue for the fourth quarter dropped 7 percent to $13 million, compared with a 14 percent decline at other Atlantic City casinos. Table-game revenue at Trump fell 5 percent to $14 million.

As revenue decreases, casino workers are finding their jobs in jeopardy.

Last month, MGM Mirage, Nevada's largest casino company, laid off about 400 managers. Most were part of a corporate restructuring already in the works, the company said, but the economic downturn increased the number of layoffs.

Wynn Resorts says it has reduced its staff by about 300 employees through attrition.

Tropicana Entertainment, which owns the Tropicana casinos in Las Vegas and Atlantic City, said yesterday it would seek Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company ran into several problems after it took over the Atlantic City Tropicana last year: Unions were angered by a layoff of nearly 1,000 employees; gamblers began spending less money in a slowing national economy, and credit markets tightened. The bankruptcy filing will cover nine properties but not the Atlantic City Tropicana, which is being sold.

The weak economy may affect the growth of the gaming industry. Developers plan to add more than 40,000 hotel rooms to the Las Vegas Strip, but scarce credit and the slowing economy may make financing difficult and postpone other projects.

In March, Deutsche Bank, the senior lender to the partially built Cosmopolitan Resort & Casino, began foreclosure proceedings on a $760 million construction loan after developer 3700 Associates was unable to raise cash.

But plenty of construction projects are near completion or proceeding. Wynn expects to open its 2,034-suite Encore hotel, including 72,000 square feet of casino space, next year on 20 acres of the Las Vegas Strip. In Atlantic City, a new 782-room tower at the Trump Taj Mahal is scheduled to open in September.