Nevada gaming win dips 2.5 percent to $954.3 million in October

By Cy Ryan

Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2013 | 8:14 a.m.

CARSON CITY — After two strong months, gaming revenue in Nevada casinos dropped 2.5 percent in October.

The state Gaming Control Board reported today gross gaming win for October was $954.3 million compared to $979.5 million the same month a year ago.

Gaming win statewide, computed before business expenses and taxes, increased 11.1 percent in August and 7.4 percent in September.

For the current fiscal year, the state has collected $279.8 million in taxes, a 0.3 percent decline from the previous year.

Michael Lawton, senior research analyst for the board, said timing was part of the reason for the drop. A portion of gaming revenue in September 2012 was rolled over to October, making for a difficult comparison, he said.

Casinos on the Las Vegas Strip reported a decline in revenue of 5 percent, with a gross win of $551.3 million. Strip casinos account for more than half of the gaming win statewide.

Revenue from downtown Las Vegas casinos, meanwhile, dropped 2.9 percent and North Las Vegas was off 0.6 percent. But revenue at Laughlin casinos was up 11.2 percent.

There were gains in other areas of Clark County, too.

The Boulder Strip showed an increase of 2.8 percent, and the Mesquite gaming win was up 1.8 percent after nine straight months of declines. The balance of Clark County recorded a 4.9 percent increase in revenue.

Washoe County’s gaming win fell by 0.01 percent and South Lake Tahoe was off 22.5 percent. Carson Valley casinos registered a 1.3 percent gain in revenue.