As temperatures begin to heat up in March so did the action in Wendover’s casinos which recorded their highest total gaming win in over five years at $16.75 million according to this week’s report from the Nevada Gaming control Board.
According to the report Wendover’s total win increased 7.66 percent from last March and was the first increase since November 2012.
“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.
From December to February Wendover and the rest of Elko County was in the grips of an unprecedented cold snap that saw just a handful of days above freezing and saw win numbers fall to Great Recession levels.
The arctic like weather also included five major snow storms that caused road closures along Interstate 80.
“Markets like Wendover that rely so much on road conditions are especially vulnerable to weather,” said senior research analyst for the Gaming Control Board Michael Lawton.
Frozen no more Slot win in Wendover was up 7.2 percent to $12.8 million. Slot play was up 3.5 percent to $235.2 million . Slot hold increased from 5.26 percent to 5.45 percent.
Win from table games and sports betting was up 9.2 percent to $3.9 million. Play was down 2.7 percent to $14.3 million. Hold increased from 20.8 to 23.4 percent.
For the fiscal year to date Wendover clubs are down 2.63 percent at $123.7 million.
Casinos in the rest of Elko County saw total gaming win up 8.9 percent to $9.35 million. Slot win was up 12.1 percent to $8.3 million. Slot play was up 1.5 percent to $120 million. Slot hold was up from 6.23 percent to 6.88 percent. Table games were down 9.54 percent in the balance of Elko County posting total win of $1.1 million. Table play was down 13.2 percent at $4.4 million . Hold increased from 22.8 percent to 23.8 percent.
Nevada’s March gaming win in Nevada jumped 7 percent from the same month in 2012, but fell from the total collected in February, according to the state’s gaming control board.
Casinos in the Silver State won more than $914 million in gaming revenue. That eclipsed last March’s total of more than $854 million.
The gaming win, though, appeared to have dropped more than $100 million from February’s total of $1 billion, according to Nevada Gaming Control Board statistics.
Clark County casinos raked in the bulk of March’s gaming wins, accounting for nearly $788 million, according to NGCB’s numbers. Clark County casinos also saw their gaming win go up from the previous March by 7 percent.
In a breakdown of Clark County’s gaming win, Las Vegas Strip casinos saw a jump of more than 13 percent to $507 million. Downtown Las Vegas casinos took in $45 million in March, reflecting a 5 percent jump.
And once again it was baccarat that proved the savior of the casino industry. Without the $74.8 million baccarat win, almost entirely from the Las Vegas Strip, total win would have increased just one-third of 1 percent compared with March 2012.
