A study by the UNLV Center for Gaming Research, made public over the weekend, found that Nevada casino debt rose 18-fold to $51.2 billion during the period from 1984 to 2011.

According to Dave Schwartz, the Center’s director, the casinos have owed more in long-term debt than they collectively earn in revenue each year.

"This says that the growth that we saw and the investment that we saw in the middle of the decade was quite different from what we saw in the middle of the 90’s," Schwartz was quoted as saying.

Contributing to the debt increase were the privatizations of Harrah’s Entertainment and Station Casinos Inc. Another factor was the financing needed for the creation of CityCenter by MGM Resorts International.