A stronger U.S. dollar partly helped casinos in the Niagara Falls area to enjoy a strong summer tourist season and even stronger fall.
Local officials said 2015 was the best year in a decade for area tourism, partly boosted by an improved U.S. dollar generally good weather, which led to more trips across the border for U.S. visitors.
Although no estimates were provided regarding how much money area casinos took in during 2015, local officials say visitation from Canadians remained about the same for area casinos, but U.S. bettors came in much larger numbers than the prior average of about 5 percent of bettors.
Niagara Falls Mayor Jim Diodati said that while area casinos enjoyed a bountiful 2015, that economic harvest also proved beneficial for all types of businesses, especially those tied to tourism.
Better still, the city anticipates taking in about $20 million in shared revenues from area casinos, which Diodati says are much-needed and encourages local officials to want to see area casinos continue to succeed.
