Casino win records shattered in January

Cy Ryan and David Strow

Thursday, March 9, 2000 | 10:58 a.m.

Nevada casinos kicked off the new century with a strong performance, posting a record win of $865.4 million in January, the state Gaming Control Board reported today.

The board said casinos along the Las Vegas Strip also registered a record win for the month with $465.8 million, computed before taxes and business expenses.

Frank Streshley, spokesman for the board, attributed the records to good business over the New Year's and Super Bowl weekends.

Though the number of people coming to Nevada for New Years was not as high as expected, Streshley said the casinos cashed in high rollers.

"And the casinos finished the month strong with the Super Bowl weekend," he said.

The total statewide win surpassed the previous record of $819.6 million set in September 1999. The gross revenue was up 7.3 percent compared to January 1999. Streshley noted January 1999 was also a strong month posting, a 16.6 percent increase in win from the year-ago month.

"Given the fact our expectations (for January) had been tempered ... we view these results quite favorably," said David Anders, gaming analyst with CS First Boston. "On a year-over-year basis, you had three new properties open (on the Strip). This continues to indicate the new capacity is being reasonably well absorbed."

The board also reported this was a record month for tax collections, reaching $56.6 million from the casinos, surpassing March of 1998 at $56.4 million.

Slot win grew by 11.1 percent and revenue from table games inched up 2.6 percent. Streshley noted the table win in January 1999 jumped by 25.5 percent.

Gross win from Megabucks totaled $20.5 million, up 263 percent as players chased a giant jackpot before it was finally hit for $34.9 million. The board said play on the dice tables in January grew by 34.6 percent compared to a year ago; baccarat win was up 3.5 percent but 21 volume fell 5.1 percent.

On the Las Vegas Strip, the record win of $465.9 million surpassed the previous mark of $432.5 million set in January 1999. Gross revenue was up 7.7 percent from a year ago on the Strip. Streshley also noted that January 1999 was a strong month with revenues rising 21.7 percent.

Slot win on Strip casinos rose by 11.2 percent and table games volume jumped 13.9 percent. The Strip clubs enjoyed a record game and table win of $273 million for the month, compared to the previous mark of $259 million in January 1999.

"What I was encouraged by was slot revenue on the Las Vegas Strip going up 11.2 percent," Anders said. "That's on top of a 10.2 percent increase in January 1999.

"We view that as the best indicator of overall (gaming) volume. So that's pretty impressive."

Anders projects the Nevada gaming revenue numbers will continue to grow at a 5 to 7 percent rate through March.

The board said win from the dice tables rose 52.9 percent; baccarat was up 6.3 percent; 21 fell by 8.9 percent and the sports pool decreased by 23.5 percent.

Streshley said he could not pinpoint the reason for the drop in sports pool betting. He said the figures were strong on the Super Bowl.

For the third consecutive month, downtown Las Vegas casinos posted a drop in gross revenue. The clubs won $60.1 million, a decrease of 4.7 percent from January of a year ago. Slot machine win was up .7 percent but revenues from the tables fell by 16.7 percent.

For the sixth straight month, North Las Vegas casinos reported double digit growth. Gross revenue reached $22.3 million, up 23.8 percent. Slot win jumped 28.4 percent and game revenue grew 3.1 percent.

Clubs on the Boulder Strip posted $52.3 million in gross revenue, up 10.9 percent. The board said slot win rose 13.5 percent but game and table revenue was off 1.8 percent.

Washoe County casinos reported winnings of $84.7 percent, up 7.4 percent Slot machine volume rose 11.6 percent but game and table winnings dropped by 1 percent.

South Lake Tahoe casinos posted $24.7 million in gaming win, down 4.1 percent from a year ago. Slot machine win fell by 4.7 percent and table game volume was off 3.6 percent.

Elko County casinos registered $19.9 million in revenues, up 13.7 percent. Gross revenue from the slot machines rose 16.8 percent and win from the table games grew by 5.3 percent.

The board said Carson Valley area casinos reported $7.2 million in revenue, up 7.3 percent. Slot win increased by 7.8 percent and game and table revenue was up 4.2 percent.