Nevada Casino Revenue Falls A Further 0.66% in March
May 17, 2010 8:20 amIn March, Nevada casinos collected $912.2 million in revenue, which represented a decline of 0.66% over the same period last year.
Despite a 13% leap in revenue for February, casino results were once more back to their lack lustre levels in March, although the relatively small drop is being taken as a positive sign that Nevada’s casino decline may be finally levelling out.
Overall, the state’s table game wagers were up 10.6% to $2.5 billion while slots winnings had fallen 6.2% to $9.4 billion, resulting in a 6.8% increase in taxes collected by Nevada to $80 million, compared to March last year.
Commenting on the results, chief of the control board’s tax and license division Frank Streshley, said:
“This is a positive, a little better than expected.” However, Streshley struck a cautionary note against anyone expecting a quick turnaround to Nevada’s woes by saying, “People keep using the term ‘at the bottom.’ I think we’re going to be bouncing along the bottom for quite awhile. We don’t see any reasons for major declines or major increases compared to last year’s figures.”
All told, the Las Vegas Strip collected $467.1 million in gaming revenue, up 2.40% from a year earlier, Laughlin casino revenue rose 2.47% to $52.8, Reno was up 4.59% to $48.3 million, South Lake Tahoe was up 7.15% to $21.1 million and Carson Valley rose 2.26% to $8.5 million. Posting a decline in revenue from a year earlier were North Las Vegas down 11.75% to $28.2 million, the Boulder Strip down 4.95% to $75.5 million, and Wendover down 3.41% to $14.9 million.
The state of Nevada has now posted a 3% increase in its revenue for the first quarter of 2010, and it is expected to receive a further boost to its coffers as the WSOP kicks off on May 28th and an army of fans and players descend upon Las Vegas for at least a six week period.
“It’s a good start,” Streshley said. “We’re still off back to where we were a few years ago, but the year has started off nicely.”