June gaming wins soft on Strip casinos

By Cy Ryan

Monday, Aug. 11, 2008 | 10:25 a.m.

CARSON CITY – Strip casinos suffered through their sixth straight month of lower winnings, but casinos in most other parts of Clark County posted strong results in June.

The Gaming Control Board reported today that casinos statewide won $949.3 million, a 1.1 percent drop from the same month a year earlier. It was also the sixth straight month of lower casino winnings but didn’t approach the severity of May’s 15.1 percent drop.

A bright spot for the state was the casinos paid $52 million in taxes, up 8.4 percent from the same period of a year ago.

“There were no (major) special events during the month,’’ said Frank Streshley of the board. And there was one less Friday that may account somewhat for the drop in revenue, he said.

The board also reported results of the fiscal year that ended June 30th. Statewide winnings were down 1.9 percent and by 0.4 percent on the Strip, which accounts for 53.4 percent of the total win in Nevada.

Winnings during June at the table games on the Strip continued to be weak, but slot machine play rebounded after two months of decline.

The board reported the 41 casinos on the Strip won $486.3 million, down 3 percent from June 2007. Win is computed before business expenses and taxes.

Slot machines accounted for $267.3 million, up 4.9 percent after slumping 7.1 percent in April and 15.3 percent in May. The quarter slot machine, Megabucks and the penny slot all posted gains on the Strip.

But gross revenue from the 21 games on the Strip was off by 11.7 percent and roulette fell 42.4 percent. Baccarat posted a 5.1 percent increase in gross win and craps registered a gain of 0.18 percent.

Sports betting took off during the month, increasing 62.3 percent in June. Streshley said the betting was strong on such things as golf, tennis, boxing and auto racing.

Downtown Las Vegas casinos reported a 10 percent increase in win to $48.2 million in June. Slot machine revenue rose 16.2 percent but games were off 6.1 percent in June. Winnings for the fiscal year declined 0.4 percent.

Gaming win in North Las Vegas jumped 41.7 percent after two months of declines of more than 20 percent. Slot win rose 51.7 percent but game and table gross win fell 27.4 percent. For the fiscal year, the revenues were down 3.9 percent.

Laughlin was the only other area in Clark County beside the Strip that posted a decline in revenue in June. Its casinos won $43.6 million, down seven percent. It was the sixth straight month of a decline. Slow win in June fell 4.2 percent and gaming take was off 24.2 percent. For the fiscal year, Laughlin dropped 3.4 percent in win.

The board said Boulder Strip casinos won $81.8 million, up 24.9 percent, reversing a two-month decline. Slot win rose 31.2 percent but table revenue was down 13.2 percent. For the fiscal year, gaming win dropped 2.4 percent.

Casinos in Mesquite posted a win of $10.8 million, up 23.4 percent, ending two months of declining revenues. Slot revenue rose 28.3 but tables were off 3.4 percent. For the fiscal year the revenues fell 1.7 percent.

Casinos in the balance of Clark County registered a win of $106.6 million, up 3.6 percent and ending a three months decline. Slot win rose 7.5 percent but game and table revenue was off 16 percent.

For the 12th straight month, casinos in Washoe County reported a lower win, down 19.1 percent. This was the highest percentage decline during that period. Slot win was off 16.2 percent and table games were down 31 percent. For the fiscal year that ended June 30, Washoe County’s gaming win fell by 6.9 percent.

Casinos at South Lake Tahoe declined 23.9 percent to $20.5 million in June and posted a 3.9 percent decline for the fiscal year. Elko County casinos won $23.8 million, down 5.9 percent in June but posted a 4 percent gain for the fiscal year. Carson Valley casinos won $9.7 percent in June, down 5.4 percent and for the fiscal year were down 4.1 percent.