On April 7th, 2009, Nevada casino facilities had their fourteenth straight month of declines in overall winnings in February 2009, reporting $830.9 million for an 18.1% drop compared with the February 2008 results, according to the report released by the Gaming Control Board. The Gaming Control Board report states that taxes based on the overall casino win, an important source of revenue for Nevada, totaled $65.1 million up by 22.6% compared with the same period a year ago.
So far this current fiscal year, those casino revenues amount to $478 million, down by 16.3%. Gaming Board analyst Frank Streshley said that there is an ongoing material decline in player spending. Streshley said that win for the month of March may also be down than expected but it is possible that could signal the end of big declines and casino could begin seeing small gains.
The $830.9 million casino win in February was the total left in casino coffers after players wagered $11.2 billion during the month, including $9.1 billion in slot machine wagers and the balance on casino table games. The Gaming Control Board shows drops during February in important gaming markets in Nevada, including the Las Vegas Strip which was down by 23.5%.
Elsewhere in the southern Nevada market, North Las Vegas improved by 21.9%, Laughlin was down by 19.2%, downtown Las Vegas market dropped by 11.4%, Mesquite improved by 0.7% and the Boulder Strip market was up by 0.1%. In northern Nevada, clubs in Washoe County, which takes in the Reno market, were down by 23.4%. It was the 20th consecutive month of declines for the market. Resorts on Lake Tahoe's south shore reported a 26.8% decline in February compared with the same period a year ago.
A statewide breakdown shows that slot machines were off ten percent while casino table games were down by 31.6% compared with February 2008. Slot machines accounted for 559.6 million of the total casino win. That included $267.1 million won by multidenomination slots, down by 4.8%. Penny slot machines were second with a total win of $142.1 million, up by 5.9%.
Live casino games, including the game of poker, accounted for the balance of the February total. That included $57.5 million won on the game of baccarat, down by 51.5%; $95.3 million won on the game of blackjack, down by 18.1%; $27.8 million on the game of craps, down by 39% and $19.4 million on the game of roulette, down by 45.4%. Sports books won $8.9 million, up by 232%. More than 2/3 of the casino win came from Super Bowl wagering activity. Poker games won a total of $11.3 million, down by 14.3%. Casino'win' is the gross figure with no operating expenses deducted. It represents the revenue of casino only, no hotel and restaurant earnings.
04/19/2009 20:11 PM
Richard Kennedy