Nevada Casino Revenue Falls 4.9% In July 2010

In July, gamblers wagered $11.5 billion at Nevada casinos resulting in an $830 million win for the casinos, down 4.9% compared to the same month a year earlier.
In total, table games were up 3.5% to $291.4 million, while slot machine winnings were down 9% to $525.5 million.
Baccarat, a favourite game amongst high-roller Asian gamblers, propped up the Nevada gambling figures by at least 1% and the $743.3 million spent at the tables in July represented a 9.1% increase in win for the casinos at $74.4 million.
Traditionally, the Las Vegas Strip accounts for around half of the states casino revenue and in July revenue figures remained stable at $461.3 million, unchanged from the same period in 2009.
However, in downtown Las Vegas the win was down by a massive 19% and by 23% in North Las Vegas. South Lake Tahoe also experienced a double digit fall of 12.9% to $23.7 million.
Areas falling by smaller amounts included Washoe County (-2%), Elko County (-2%) and Carson Valley, down 4%.
Commenting on July’s figures, control board analyst Mike Lawton said: “The overall declines are becoming smaller. There were 10 double-digit declines in 2009. In the seven months so far this year, six declining months were single digits and one month was positive.”
Despite his optimistic tone, Nevada state has some worrying times ahead as around a third of the state’s funds are derived from casino gambling revenue. However, in July Nevada collected just $49.9 million in gaming taxes for August as a result of the July figures, representing a huge 13% decline from a year earlier.
Summing up the trend, Gaming Analyst Steve Schwartz said: “The truth is that since expansion is taking place in many other states, Nevada may never again see the revenue they once enjoyed. Even when the economy comes back, Nevada will have too much competition from states that are offering the same gambling options.”