Nevada Casino Revenue Up 5.1% To $958.7 Million In March 2011

Nevada’s casinos have managed to end four months of decline after recording a 5.1% increase in their revenue for March to $958.7 million compared to $911.98 million a year earlier.
Traditionally, casinos situated along the Las Vegas Strip generate around half the gambling revenue collected in Nevada and March saw an impressive 12.9% rise in their takings to reach $527.3 million.
The Strip casinos’ strong performance was boosted by a 55.1% increase in baccarat win to $81.8 million, a 23.9% increase for blackjack to $83.8 million, and a 62.4% rise in roulette revenue. The Strips slot machine revenue was also up 0.9% from a year earlier to $260.2 million.
Commenting on the promising figures, gaming analyst David Katz from Jefferies & Co said:
“We believe these results support our view of a gradual recovery on the Strip followed by a more pronounced lag in the locals market. The data reveals important qualitative and directional indications for the overall health of the Las Vegas market. We view March casino revenue trends (excluding baccarat) as largely within our expectations of a slow and tentative casino revenue recovery.”
Elsewhere around the state, Elko County posted a 2.1% increase in revenue, Carson Valley area was up 0.9%, while Clark County posted a slight gain of 0.1%,
On the other side of the coin, South Lake Tahoe fell 29.8%, Washoe County fell 7.3%,
Laughlin was down 3.2%, North Las Vegas was down 2.8%, Downtown Las Vegas fell 0.2%, while Mesquite was off by 0.1%.
The overall figures indicate that although the Las Vegas Strip seems to be improving, other neighboring casinos which depend on local markets are continuing to struggle. As Nevada senior control board analyst Mike Lawton explains:
“We’re waiting for a broader recovery that will spill over to the local markets. Their losses are narrowing and we’re continuing to monitor it.”
Finally, a third of Nevada’s fund revenues come from casino taxes and in April the state collected $79.63 million in fees, down 0.35% from a year earlier.