Nevada Casino Revenue Down 11% To $782m In November

The Nevada Gaming Control Board has released its casino results for November, 2011, revealing a dramatic 11.1% decline in revenue to $782.6 million. Worryingly for Nevada, this figure represents the lowest monthly win for the state since June 2010.
The Las Vegas Strip usually accounts for more than half of Nevada’s casino revenue, and in November its win fell by 12.8% to $431.8 million. This was the lowest tally recorded throughout the whole of 2012. Breaking the figures down further, slot machines were down by 10.2%, blackjack down 23.3%, craps down 22.9% and baccarat down 25.1% to $55.4 million. The only major game bucking the trend was roulette, which was up 11.6%.
The picture was equally as disappointing elsewhere in Nevada’s casino market. The Nevada Gaming Control Board reported that the win in downtown Las Vegas fell 17.2% to $38.5 million; while North Las Vegas casinos were down 24.2% to $17.9 million; and Laughlin casinos down 2% to $37.8 million. In addition, Boulder Strip reported a fall of 26.3% to $52.7 million; Mesquite fell 1.3% to $9.7 million and Reno down 3% to $36.9 million. Just South Lake Tahoe reported a positive trend with its revenue rising by 26.6% to $17.7 million.
Across the state, the sports books gross win also dropped by a massive 151.2%, with the Las Vegas Strip down by 47.5%. Explaining the dramatic decline in sports book revenue, senior control board analyst Mike Lawton, said:  “In general, bettors bet the favorites and they bet the over. The majority of the favorites won during November. Bettors had one of those months where you just scratch your head.”
In November, the state collected 20.2% less in taxes at $45.7 million. However, for the fiscal year collections were up by 1.4% to $326.7 million.