Nevada sales hit nearly $30 billion in fiscal 1999-2000

Brendan Riley

Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2000 | 9:19 a.m.

CARSON CITY - Las Vegas megaresort openings helped Nevada merchants to sell nearly $30 billion in goods last fiscal year - a gain of nearly 6 percent.

The $29.82 billion in sales generated $598.5 million in sales taxes for state coffers, up 5.7 percent for the fiscal year ending June 30. That's close to what lawmakers had estimated last year in passing a state budget.

Key factors in the latest statewide percentage jump were the 1999 openings of the Paris, Mandalay Bay and Venetian resorts on the Las Vegas Strip.

The 1999-2000 fiscal year ended with June sales totaling $2.74 billion, up 3.7 percent over the same period a year earlier. The state's cut of sales tax collections in June hit $55.5 million.

Bar and restaurant sales, indicators of tourist traffic, were up 13.8 percent in June. General merchandise was up 10.3 percent and clothing stores were up 7.9 percent.

A breakdown of the June gain showed 5.5 percent growth in the populous Las Vegas area and 4.4 percent growth in the Reno area.

Merchants in Clark County, which encompasses Las Vegas, sold goods worth $1.93 billion in June. In Washoe County, encompassing the Reno-Sparks area, June sales totaled $470.1 million.

But 10 of the state's 15 outlying counties reported sales slumps, led by Eureka County which was down 61 percent.

Besides Eureka, other counties with June slumps included: Churchill, down 10 percent; Esmeralda and Humboldt, down nearly 20 percent; Lander, down 1.1 percent; Lyon, down 4.3 percent; Mineral, down 31.2 percent; Nye, down 8.4 percent; Storey, down 11.4 percent; and White Pine, down 18.6 percent.

Counties with month-to-month gains, besides Washoe and Clark, included: Carson City, up 3.1 percent; Douglas, up 10.4 percent; Elko, up 2.3 percent; Lincoln, up 81.5 percent; and Pershing, up 17 percent.

The sales tax report follows a recent report on gambling revenue that shows $9.46 billion won from gamblers in fiscal 1999-2000 - an 11.3 percent gain over the previous year and the strongest growth in a decade.

Sales and gambling taxes combined provide three-quarters of the money needed to run state government.