Thread: Nevada Casinos Lost Money in July 2008

Nevada casinos had a bad July, reporting a 13 percent slump in money won from gamblers for a record seventh straight month of declines in growth rates, a state report showed Wednesday.

The resorts won just under $1 billion during the month, and had declines compared with the same month a year earlier in every major market except for the clubs on Lake Tahoe's south shore, the state Gaming Control Board report shows.

"This is a continuation of the story we've been talking about for the last six months: the economy, especially the May-June-July period when gas was over $4 a gallon," said GCB analyst Frank Streshley.

"People lack confidence in the economy and aren't spending. We still have people coming into the state, but they're not spending near what they were a year ago," he said.

State taxes based on the casino wins — a major revenue source — amounted to $58.3 million. That's 24 percent below the collections at the same point a year ago.

Ben Kieckhefer, spokesman for Gov. Jim Gibbons, said the tax take was about $10 million below what the state Economic Forum had projected in June. He added that the bleak win report should make advocates of more taxes on the casino industry think twice.

"Now is not the time to go after this industry to increase its tax burden," Kieckhefer said. "It's not like these guys are rolling in cash and can afford to pay more."

The $997.3 million win in July was the amount left in casino coffers after gamblers wagered $13.2 billion during the month, including $10.7 billion in slot machine bets and the balance on table games.

I have the actual numbers, check 'em out:

The GCB report shows declines during July for all major markets in the Las Vegas area. The Las Vegas Strip was down 14.7 percent and Laughlin was down 7.5 percent, while downtown Las Vegas was down 16.4 percent, North Las Vegas was down 21.8 percent, Mesquite was down 32.4 percent and the Boulder Strip was down 18.9 percent.

In northern Nevada, clubs in Reno were down 1.1 percent while resorts in Elko County, in northeastern Nevada, were down 11.1 percent.

Resorts on Lake Tahoe's south shore were up 10.9 percent, thanks mainly to an annual celebrity golf tournament that drew large crowds and some high-spending participants.

A statewide breakdown showed that slots were down 11 percent while table games were down 17.3 percent compared with the same month last year.

Slots accounted for $678.1 million of the total win. That included $303.6 million won by multidenomination slots, down 3.9 percent. Penny slots were second with a win of $152.8 million, up 1 percent.

Live games, including poker, accounted for the balance of the July total. That included $117.7 million won on blackjack tables, down 13.8 percent; $40.1 million on craps, down 16.4 percent; and $27.8 million on roulette, down 20.5 percent.

The win on baccarat was $53.9 million, down 26 percent; and the win on mini-baccarat was $10.3 million, down 14 percent.

Sports books lost nearly $2 million, for a decline of 161 percent. Poker games won $14.4 million, down 9.1 percent.

"Win" is a gross figure, with no operating costs or other expenses deducted. It represents casino revenue only, not hotel, restaurant or bar revenues.

With travel to Las Vegas being impeded by such factors as high gasoline prices, curtailed airplane flights and an active stock market, its no wonder there were fewer visitors to Vegas and therefore a decline in the 'win' amount.

High temperatures may have had an impact too, though I tend to think that decisions to travel to Vegas are more a reflection of airline prices and hotel room prices.