Strip pushes gaming win up

Thursday, March 11, 2004 | 11:13 a.m.

Thanks to a robust Chinese New Year performance on the Strip, Nevada's 349 casinos won $882.1 million from gamblers in January, up 4.4 percent from $844.9 million in January 2003, the state Gaming Control Board reported today.

Chinese New Year 2003 was in February, making the Strip's January comparison easier.

"The calendar, with Chinese New Year in January, was the big reason for the statewide increase," Control Board statistical analyst Frank Streshley said.

Strip casinos won $482.5 million, up 12.3 percent from $429.6 million, a jump made more impressive when coupled with last year's increase of 13.8 percent from the $377.4 million won in January 2002.

Most of the $52.9 million increase in the amount won by the Strip's 43 casinos was collected on table game felt, with most of that garnered at baccarat, the top game for international high rollers, Streshley noted.

Strip table games won $260.4 million, up 23.7 percent from $210.5 million, while the market's baccarat tables won $68.1 million, more than doubling the January 2003 baccarat win of $29.3 million.

"Excluding baccarat this year and last year, the Strip would have been up 3.5 percent in January instead of 12.3 percent," Streshley said.

Because the Super Bowl was held on Feb. 1 this year after being played in January last year, sports books suffered while casinos did not, he noted.

"The game was played in February, and that's why sports books were down 69.9 percent in January," he said. "But much of the casino play would have taken place on Friday and Saturday (Jan. 30 and 31)."

Strip casinos reported a 35.5 percent increase in blackjack win as well as a 25.4 percent increase in roulette win, but declined by 30.6 percent at craps.

Downtown Las Vegas suffered a 10.4 percent drop in casino win, to $54.3 million from $60.6 million, after Binion's Horseshoe and the Castaways closed in the month.

Laughlin casinos reported a 3.9 percent decline to $51 million from $53.1 million, the market's biggest decline since March 2003. Streshley had no explanation for the Colorado River-edge market's drop.

Streshley said January road closures, winter weather and continuing strong competition from Thunder Valley Casino in suburban Sacramento, Calif., contributed to a bad month in Northern Nevada.

Washoe County casinos reported a $73.6 million win, down 9.3 percent from $81.1 million, with Reno casinos down 10.5 percent and Sparks' casinos down 4.6 percent.

"The Northern markets continue to pull everything down," Streshley said.

The Control Board also reported a year-to-year 8.2 percent decrease in collection of percentage-based gaming taxes in February to $50.5 million. The collections are based on January revenue.

Percentage-based taxes are the levies that now tax casinos at a 6.75 percent top rate since the rates were increased in September. There's not a direct correlation between gaming win and tax collections because of the timing of tax payments and marker collection issues.

After eight months of fiscal 2004 percentage-based gaming taxes, the state has collected $410.2 million, up 13 percent from the $362.9 million reported in the year-earlier period, but 0.5 percent, or about $2.1 million, below projections made by the May 2003 Economic Forum.

Gov. Kenny Guinn noted the solid numbers reported by casinos in January, crediting Chinese New Year and other special events, but tempered his optimism with a few black clouds that could make the 2005 state budgeting process another nightmare for lawmakers.

"What concerns me is that the gaming win has increased by a paltry 1.76 percent from a year ago and fee collections have fallen $2 million below forecasted totals," Guinn said in a statement. "The good news is that sales tax activity is ahead of projections, but does not completely offset gaming activity. I will be closely monitoring collections during during the final four months of the fiscal year in order to assess their impacts on the overall revenue forecast upon which the budget was built."