Improved October Results in Nevada

Land casino winnings increase by 11 percent

On Dec. 9, land casinos in Nevada released their latest (October) performance results, which showed some improvement, giving reason for cautious optimism.

According to the Nevada Gaming Control Board, casinos in the gambling state won $888.6 million in October, which is an increase of 11 percent compared to October 2009. The taxation of casino gambling revenues brought around $60 million into the state coffers, which represents a 22 percent growth, it was stated.

Casino winnings noted a 16 percent growth on the key Las Vegas Strip, which usually provides up to half of statewide gambling revenues, whereas strip resorts won $494.8 million in October, compared to $426.3 million a year earlier; downtown Las Vegas casinos’ winnings jumped by 10.3 percent.

Associated Press reported the assessment of Gaming Control Board analyst Mike Lawton, who said that the October results mark the third consecutive month of rising casino winnings. The last truly positive result was April-June 2007, in the eve of the global economic crisis.

According to Lawton, an 8.5 percent increase was noted even without counting baccarat, a high-roller game widely played by Asian players, that has served as a winning booster for many casinos recently.

The overall amount wagered at table games and slot machines was $11.7 billion, with $2.4 billion wagered at table games (1.3 percent increase), and $9.28 billion on slots (0.3 percent growth), which is the first increase in slot wagering since October 2007.

In terms of other areas, in Washoe County, which includes Reno and Sparks, the casinos’ winnings amounted to $70 million, increasing by 4.3 percent, whereas in Elko County, casinos' winnings totaled $23.6 million, up nearly 9 percent. South Lake Tahoe saw its casino winnings dropping by 4.5 percent, and in the Carson Valley area they went down by 5.6 percent.