Nevada casinos win $788.5 million in September

Brendan Riley

Thursday, Nov. 9, 2000 | 5:03 a.m.

CARSON CITY - The win was down for Las Vegas-area casinos but up for clubs in Reno and on Tahoe's south shore as gamblers statewide lost $788.5 million in September.

The Nevada Gaming Control Board said Thursday the statewide win was down 3.8 percent compared with the same month a year earlier. The money represents the amount kept by clubs after gamblers bet $12 billion.

GCB spokesman Frank Streshley said the decrease, ending a 30-month run of positive statewide wins by casinos, was largely due to a comparison with a big September 1999 and doesn't signal any economic nosedive.

A year ago, the statewide win was up 23 percent as a result of action at three new megaresorts, plus a major prizefight and heavy convention business, all in Las Vegas.

This September, the big bounce in the win caused by the new resorts was gone because they had been open for at least a year. Also, there was no major Vegas fight, and two large conventions normally held in that month changed to different months.

"We knew going in to this September that it would be a tough comparison," Streshley said. "So even with the overall decline, it wasn't that bad of a month."

In southern Nevada, resorts on the Las Vegas Strip won $384.5 million for a 9.4 percent slump. Downtown casinos won $53.6 million, down 5.4 percent.

In northern Nevada, several annual events that draw tourists helped to produce an 8.5 percent gain in the win for Reno casinos and a 12 percent gain for Sparks clubs.

Casinos in Stateline, on Tahoe's south shore, were up 14.7 percent.

The casino "win" is what's left in casino coffers after payouts to gamblers are subtracted from money that's bet on tables, in slots and on sports events. It's a gross figure, with no operating costs or other expenses deducted. And it's casino revenue only - separate from hotel, restaurant or bar revenues generated by casinos.

Statewide, the September win included $268.8 million from house-banked table games, down 8.7 percent. A breakdown shows baccarat was down 53 percent, craps was down 12.4 percent and roulette was down 11.6 percent. Blackjack was up 2.6 percent.

The statewide win on slots totaled $514.8 million, down 1 percent. A breakdown shows Megabucks was down 46 percent, quarter slots were down 8.8 percent and dollar slots were down 7 percent. Nickel slots were up 25 percent.

State taxes collected based on the September win totaled $51.4 million. That's up 4 percent compared with taxes collected for the same period a year earlier.