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Wendover Casinos saw a modest drop of 4.17 percent in October Gaming Win from the same month last year according to the most recent report from the Gaming control board.
According to the report Wendover clubs reported $14.3 million in total win down from the $14.9 million collected in October 2010.
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“Win” is a gross figure, with no operating costs or other expenses deducted. And it’s casino revenue only _ separate from hotel, restaurant or bar revenues generated by the resorts.
While win indicates a casino market’s profitability another statistic “play” is an indicator of how casino workers are fairing. With some casino workers dependent on tips for up to half of their total income, play, the amount of money wagered by gamblers is a good indicator of how much casino workers received in tips and how many gamblers are actually in the casino.
According to the report Wendover slot win totaled $11.1 million down 0.9 percent from the previous October. Slot play was off 7.0 percent to 4189.6 million. Slot hold increased from 5.49 percent to 5.85 percent.
Win from table games and sports betting was off 14 percent to $3.2 million. Play however was up 1.0 percent to $16.1 million. Hold was down to 19.79 percent from 23.19 percent in October 2010. The major difference was sports betting where the win total dropped 51 percent.
Competing against the local bookie and now the internet, Nevada casinos are using much more attractive lines to sports bettors sometimes not in their favor.
In the balance of Elko county, local casinos reported a total win of $8.9 million up 1.9 percent from the same month last year. Slot win was up 2.3 percent to $7.8 million. Clot play was down 1.2 percent to $105.6 million. Hold increased from 7.19 percent to 7.45 percent. Table win was down 1.2 percent to $924,000. Play was up 3.6 percent to $4.5 million. Hold was down from 21.69 percent to 20.68 percent.
For the rest of the state Nevada casinos took in $961 million in October for an 8.1 percent gain over the same month in 2010, the Gaming Control Board reported today.
The Las Vegas Strip took in $561 million for a healthy, double-digit gain of 13.3 percent. A big reason was the $159.3 million in revenue taken in from the card game baccarat, a 74 percent increase over October 2010.
For the fiscal year-to-date, gaming revenues statewide total nearly $3.6 billion, or just 0.3 percent behind the same period in 2010.
“Really baccarat was the story for the state and the Strip,” said Michael Lawton, senior research analyst for the GCB.
It was the biggest October win for baccarat on record. The “hold” percentage, or the amount retained by casinos on the baccarat wagers, was also high at nearly 19 percent on the Strip, he said. The typical hold on the game is about 12.5 percent.
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A number of special events, including an Indy car race at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Oct. 16, and a fight at the Mandalay Bay on Oct. 29, helped bring in a lot of visitors to Las Vegas, Lawton said.
But while the recovery appears to be gaining steam in the south the same cannot be said for the north particularly Reno.
Washoe County saw a significant decline in gaming revenue, however, of 9.3 percent. Eight of the last 10 months in this calendar year have been down in the county.
And since the recession hit in 2008 Washoe County has seen its win plunge.
“This year’s total win in Reno will be the lowest since 1989,” Lawton said.
The gaming revenues boosted state general fund tax collections, bringing in $65 million and reducing the overall gaming tax revenue decline reported for the year so far from a negative 5.5 percent in the previous report to a negative 2.4 percent through the most recent report.
