Downtown’s performance healthy

Friday, July 12, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- With the Stratosphere in its first full month of operation, downtown Las Vegas casinos posted a 13.3 percent increase in gross win in May, the State Gaming Control Board reported today.

Board spokesman Todd Westergard said the smaller casinos in the downtown area showed strong gains during the month and there was mixed results from the larger properties. This was the second double-digit increase for downtown clubs in the past three months.

Statewide, casinos won $623 million, up 4.15 percent, compared with the same month a year ago.

Las Vegas Strip casinos reported winnings of $288.13 million, up a modest 2.2 percent. Westergard said part of the problem is the casinos won $11 million less this year than May 1995 in baccarat. That was partially offset by an increased win of $8 million at the 21 tables.

But the Strip rebounded from April when its revenues were down 0.6 percent.

"It was a good month but nothing stands out," Westergard said.

What does show up is that the slot machine win reached $416.3 million, up 5.9 percent, while the take from the table games was flat at $200 million, up only 0.8 percent.

And the report shows the whims of the sports bettors. Wagering on baseball fell to $1.1 million, down 39.2 percent from a year ago.

Westergard said the state collected $444.6 million in percentage fee taxes for the fiscal year, up 8.1 percent. That's $8.8 million more than predicted by the Economic Forum that makes the predictions of state revenues.

Westergard said the downtown Las Vegas casinos won $43.6 million in slot machine play, up 16.9 percent, and gross revenue from table games reached $16.1 million, up 6.4 percent.

The biggest increase in play came in the casinos that handle $1 million to $12 million a year.

Gross revenue or win is the amount before business expenses and taxes are deducted.

Strip clubs posted $158.6 million in win from slot machines, up 4 percent, and $126.8 million from table games, up a slight 0.1 percent.

The Boulder Strip continued its strong performance with a 21.8 percent increase to $31.2 million for the month. Westergard said there were 1,100 more slot machines in the Boulder Highway casinos this May than a year ago. And there were four new casinos in this growing area.

Slot machine revenue on the Boulder Strip reached $25.9 million, up 21.7 percent, and table win jumped to $4.6 million, up 27.3 percent.

Laughlin on the Colorado River continue to experience problems. Casinos posted $42.3 million, down 5.5 percent. Westergard said the results were mixed in Laughlin with some casinos doing well while others reported declines.

The May report in Laughlin follows an April decline of 6.4 percent.

North Las Vegas, with its new casinos, reported $12.9 million in revenue, up 128.9 percent compared with a year ago.

Washoe County recorded a modest 3.8 percent increase in gaming revenue to $85.7 million. Westergard said a national bowling tournament, which was in Reno last year, was not there this year. But he said the Silver Legacy, the major new casino in town, was counted this year and it was not in operation last year.

"It's not spectacular," Westergard said of Washoe's showing.

The roller-coaster ride at South Lake Tahoe continued. Casinos reported $24.9 million, down 13.3 percent. A year ago, the casinos were up 17 percent for May.

The Carson Valley area encompassing Minden and Gardnerville, with two new casinos in operation this May that were not open a year ago, had a gross win of $6.4 million, up 16 percent.

Elko County clubs registered $17.4 million in win, up 4.3 percent.