Nevada Casino Win Up 4.2 Percent in May

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

The increase was detailed in a state Gaming Control Board report, released Friday, that shows a $623 million win for the clubs throughout Nevada during May, compared with $598.2 million in May 1995.

The downtown Las Vegas win combined with even higher percentage gains for clubs in North Las Vegas and on the Boulder Strip to offset a low 2.3 percent increase for resorts on the Las Vegas Strip and a 5.6 percent slump in Laughlin.

The Strip properties accounted for $288.4 million of the statewide total while Laughlin casinos won $42.3 million.

Downtown clubs took in $60.7 million, up 13.4 percent; North Las Vegas clubs won $12.9 million, up 129 percent; and Boulder Strip clubs won $31.2 million, up 22 percent.

In the balance of Clark County, including rapidly growing Mesquite, the combined win of $46.4 million was flat compared with the same month a year earlier.

GCB spokesman Todd Westergard noted May was the first full month of operations for the Stratosphere. In the resort's specific revenue category, downtown casinos with revenues up to $12 million, the win was up 369 percent.

In northern Nevada, casinos in Reno, Sparks and the north Tahoe area won $85.8 million for a 3.8 percent increase. Westergard said activity at the National Bowling Stadium was down but the big Silver Legacy resort in downtown Reno helped to keep the win up.

On Tahoe's south shore, casinos won $25 million for a 13.3 percent slump. That was due mainly to a big drop in blackjack winnings and an even bigger drop in craps winnings for the casinos compared with May 1995.

In the Carson City-Gardnerville-Minden area, the win was $6.5 million for a strong 16 percent increase. And clubs in Elko County won $17.5 million, up 4.3 percent.

A breakdown of the statewide May win of $623 million shows that table games accounted for $200.8 million of the total - a nearly flat 0.8 percent gain - and slots accounted for $416.4 million - up 6 percent.

With a final report not due for another month for the just-ended fiscal year, the casinos' statewide win stood at $6.9 billion. That's up 5.5 percent over the same 11-month period a year earlier.

The report also shows the state's tax collections, which are complete for the just-ended fiscal period, hit $444.6 million for an increase of 8.1 percent. That's about 2 percent higher than the tax revenue that had been estimated for state lawmakers last year.