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Published Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2010 | 7:43 a.m.
Updated Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2010 | 1:01 p.m.
CARSON CITY – Reversing a 22-month decline, the casinos on the Las Vegas Strip registered an 8.2 percent increase in gaming win in November.
The increase was paced by a 136.2 percent jump in gross win at the 191 baccarat games, the seventh-straight month of an increase in this category. Winnings on sports parlay cards rose 79.7 percent as the pro and college football season was in full swing.
This increase compares with a soft November 2008, when the win on the Strip fell by 14 percent, says Frank Streshley, chief of tax and licensing for the state Gaming Control Board.
The last monthly increase reported by Strip casinos was in December 2007 at 0.8 percent.
The state Gaming Control Board reported today that clubs statewide had a 4.3 percent increase in their gross win, computed before expenses and taxes. It also ended a 22-month decline. The 322 non-restricted casinos had $873.1 million in win.
The state collected $57 million in taxes based on that win, up 28.23 percent from the same month of 2008. The “collections were off the roof,” said Streshley, adding the casinos collected some of the credit previously extended to players.
Part of the increase on the Strip came from the Pacquiao-Cotto fight at the MGM in the middle of the month, said Streshley. That sparked high-end play.
Strong win numbers were posted in North Las Vegas, up 20.7 percent; Boulder Strip had an increase of 18.9 percent and the balance of Clark County had an increase of 18.9 percent, ending 13 months of declining revenues for that sector.
The board reported the Strip casinos won $473.8 million during the month. But for the three-month period ending Nov. 30, the gross win was down 2.1 percent.
Some places in Clark County didn't do as well in November. For the 18th straight month, downtown Las Vegas casinos were down, 1.2 percent; casinos in Laughlin reported a 5.5 percent decline in revenue, the 24th consecutive month of a decline, and Mesquite casinos registered a 15.5 percent decline in gross win, the 10th straight month of a drop.
After 19 straight months of declines, the casinos on the Strip registered a 4 percent increase in win from the 21 games in November. Winnings from craps tables fell 32.4 percent. Roulette win increased 12.3 percent but slot win fell by 3.7 percent for the 17th consecutive month.
While the casinos in Southern Nevada enjoyed some success, the gaming business in Northern Nevada continued to suffer. Washoe County casinos reported a 4.2 percent decline in gross win in November; South Lake Tahoe was off 26.6 percent; Carson City was off 10.5 percent and Elko gaming revenue fell 8.7 percent.
Streshley cautioned that "one month is not a trend.” But he said he received good feedback from casinos on their New Year's business. In a depressed economy, he said the games are usually the first to rebound. He said this was seen in the high-end play on the Strip. Slot machine play is slower to recover, he said.
Great! Now where are the jobs?
Slot win needs to increase in order to pay all of that debt.
This has to be Obama's fault !!!
Okay, so that's wonderful--the economy is treading water instead of going up in smoke like the Hindenburg. But didn't you see the TIME cover story about teen unemployment?
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/articl...
But for the three-month period ending Nov. 30, the gross win was down 2.1 percent. Take away the asian Baccarat losers and you have
GLOOM AND DOOM......GORDON
Kick out Harry Reid and Obama, they are nut cases
But for the three-month period ending Nov. 30, the gross win was down 2.1 percent. Take away the asian Baccarat losers and you have
GLOOM AND DOOM......GORDON
Boomer111
I thought the same thing. The numbers, if one really reads the article and understands it, are not as good as it sounds in the headline.
I think this is wonderful! Now we can finish the Fountainbleau!
Its an increase over '08 ! GGEezz...anything would be an increase over those figures..
"The increase was paced by a 136.2 percent jump in gross win at the 191 baccarat games.."
"The "collections were off the roof," said Streshley, adding the casinos collected some of the credit previously extended to players."
Could this be the cause of the 136.2 increase in baccarat? It seems the increase has more to do with increased collection efforts or the fear of prosecution.
All the money the democrats are borrowing from China and dumping into the economy is having an effect. But it's a paper fire (flares up quick, burn bright, but burns out just as quickly.) Once the deficits get to big to sustain, or the Chinese decide they'll never get their money back and stop lending it to us, things will go back into the toilet.
Work it for all it's worth, but don't get used to it.
If only the numbers were analyzed to such a great extent during the eight years under the Bush Administration . . . maybe we wouldn't be in this mess . . .
To Open Range You remind me of a comic that was being booed while performing and when he finished his performance said they were booing the last performer! Get over it The President has been in office for 1 year when is he going to take responsibility?
Big deal -- just an anomaly, it will continue main downtrend and declining. People come to Vegas for fun, NOT to lose $ when odds against them are increasing.
Can someone explain why Vegas roulette needs two zeros [0 and 00], while Monte Carlo, Monaco casinos [and many other countries in the World] get by with just one zero [cutting casino's advantage in roughly half]?
Double Zeros, tightening slots %, only 5/6 Black Jack odds [or even!, traditionally 3/2], server based slots, etc. is a factor too why gambling revenues go down in Vegas month after month.
People see thru all this... decreasing slot odds and payout etc. and you wonder why gambling revenue falls for 22 straight months... one month up, and then the the downtrend will continue again.
Casinos' greed? Nah... :)
alexanderth :
You hit the nail on the head!
GO NEVADA!!!!!!!!!!
no place like Home!!!
There are lies, damn lies, and statistics.
Alex, you give the average person too much credit, most people are not "smart gamblers", I think these have little impact.
"Double Zeros, tightening slots %, only 5/6 Black Jack odds [or even!, traditionally 3/2], server based slots, etc. is a factor too why gambling revenues go down in Vegas month after month."
The group of drunk girls from Kansas could care less about the blackjack odds. Rev dropped, because less people came here.
"Streshley cautioned that "one month is not a trend.""
Nothing to get excited about-yet.
But it does feel better to get off the schneid.
This is awesome news! Look at that, Obama is in less than a year and we are already seeing an uptick. All those years of Bush and Republican failure are all in the rearview mirror now. Keep it up naysayers, love the comments.
That City Center in the picture looks about as interesting as a giant toaster oven.
skemp311 :
What you fail to realize is that Vegas saw it biggest boom in history during all those years of Bush and Republican " failure" I'm not saying it was realistic as it all came crashing down, but facts are facts..
Boomer and Big Stack You really are ignorant.Boomer after eight years of Bush's failed economy you expect Obama to fix things in one year? The village idiot knows better.It was just fourteen months ago Bush promised the economy was in good shape. How soon you right wing nut jubs forget or should want to forget.
Big Stack Just how many decades has China been buying American investments and corporations? Not to long ago Bush wanted to sell America's ports to foreign investors. Whew! Previous to the the financial crash he and Cheney wanted to turn Social Security over to their institutional banker friends as payback for all of the donations to their campaigns. Whew another shot that missed! Another idiot heard from.
does this mean that people lost money and wont be coming back to gamble?
Yeah, tom, I think so. Money is so scarce now that people don't want to risk losing more than $10. When I go to Borders, CVS, or Wal-Mart I don't want to spend more than $3.00. It's like the movie "Waterworld" where fresh water is scarce and Kevin Costner has to save as much as he can--except people now are trying to save their money.
hmmm...now...what was the VISITOR count that month?
if there wasn't an increase in visitors...so more money going into the slots...that would mean they have tightened up the slots.
one month does not make a trend. let's get a few more postives months before we start sucking each others di.....
Gordon - your stats prove evirn.. point. 2001-08 were better years based on the rooms increase in relation to revenue increase. you better go back to math class. too funny.
Why do they call it "wins" - what it should be called it "money ripped off", or "take" from rigged games!
Gordon - If you divided the total revenues by total number of rooms you get:
1992 - $57,264 per room
2001 - $61,728 per room
2008 - $69,715 per room
Who performed better? Total revenue is misleading.....it's the quality of the visitor that matters.
S711
It's perhaps true that in most other countries, roulette is being played with 1 zero only. However, there's a "hidden zero" that's not obvious at first glance. In most countries, dealers and casino staff mostly depend on the tip revenues "generated" on roulette. If a player wins straight-up, that's 35x his wager. Then the casino expects the player to "surrender" his bet to the employees. Let's say you bet 25 dollars on the number, and it comes up. Now you are paid 35x25, which is 875 dollars. Nice winner. Most casinos now expect you to tip 25 dollars, which is 1 bet or 1 unit from your winnings. This tip is extremely important for the employees as this is mainly their paycheck. The tips are being pooled and divided according some internal rules. Therefore, it doesn't mean when you tip 25 dollars to the dealer this money is for him. It's rather a very very little fraction of that money that's for this particular dealer. All other dealers usually depend on that same tip. In many countries, even the managers and the cleaning crew.
So, a single zero roulette is definetely better for the player than one wheel that has 2 nasty green fields on it, but for the player who likes to hit it big and play on straight up numbers, there's not really a big difference between 1 zero or 2 zeros, except perhaps if there's also tipping expected on a double-zero wheel if the player wins straight up. I have not seen this in Vegas but noticed that many players still tip when they win. Some don't or tip before they leave. Different countries, different rules.
Matter of fact, the European roulette dealers are way better trained than the roulette dealers I have seen in Vegas. You see many ugly things in Vegas, especially in the little joints. Such dealers wouldn't have a long life in any European casino....talking about cutting chips, pushing them, and the way they work the game and everything that's around it.
From Switzerland
Why are all the Dems on here ashamed that they took over four years ago. It was six years of Bush rule, six very good years. The Dems are terrible for the economy, the Republicans are bad for it. One day people will realize govt sucks, tax decreases are not the answer. Our only hope is to reduce spending, and then taxes.
Very interesting post, Boris. I'd be interested what company makes slot machines for European casinos. Do they import them from IGT or Ballys or does some company in Europe manufacture them?
manfromuncle1, thanks for responding. Well, we do have several different slots in operation. There are certain rules that do not allow a company to set up slots of its own production, and this applies to the company I work for. We do have some IGT slots and from what I have seen, some Spanish machines. The European market is not as competitive as the US market, that's what I can tell you right here. But the taxation of the casinos makes it impossible for the company to set up machines such as "full pay videopoker" or the "Optimum Play machines" generation. I am very disappointed and sad about it, as I know that this will only kill the player at a much faster pace than it does in Nevada. I also noticed the huge difference of paytables between Strip Casinos (rather tight) and off-strip joints where there are many 100 per cent machines could be found. The casinos can't be blamed for this fact as the governments take a huge percentage of the revenues in taxes. Therefore, a casino has no interest and no chance to set up full pay machines and still make a profit from it.
There are other factors that may surprise the Nevada readers: In Europe, there are not more than 1 casino per city in most countries. It's all government regulated (exceptions are the U.K. where there are many private clubs). We all know that the more casinos are allowed, the higher the competition, and the better for everybody. Me personally, I hate monopolism, but I am born and raised over here so I am part of the industry. I would love to come over and work in Nevada and bring in all of my skills and ability to help the Nevada casinos grow. The high unemployment rate in Las Vegas plus the huge over-supply of skilled work-force will probably not make my dream possible. But I will continue visiting Vegas as a tourist and bring you a part of my money earned from Switzerland :)
Greetings
Give me the downtown, better odds.