Wendover was one of just a few bright spots in an otherwise lackluster April according to the Nevada Gaming commission report released Wednesday.
Wendover casinos reported a total gaming win of $13.6 million up 4.31 percent from the same month last year and was only one of three of the 19 Nevada gaming districts or sub-districts to report an increase for April. Only the Las Vegas Strip and rural Carson valley also reported increases.
click link for report: mrrapr14
“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.
Slots remained king in Wendover with a total win of $10.9 million up 6.8 percent from last year. Slot play at $194.9 million was up 0.5 percent. Slot hold increased from 5.25 percent to 5.58 percent.
Win from table games and sports betting was down 4.6 percent to $2.7 million. Play on the tables increased 1.3 percent to $13 million.
In the balance of Elko County win was down13.67 percent to $7.4 million. Slot win was down 14.6 percent to $6.6 million. Slot play was up 1.1 percent to $105.2 million. Hold was down from 7.41 to 6.26 percent. Win from table games was down 3.5 percent to $714,000. Table play was up 0.2 percent to $3.4 million. Hold fell from 22.05 percent to 21.23 percent.
Nevada casinos won more than $852 million from gamblers last month, a drop of 0.27 percent from April 2013.
More than half April’s total gaming win came from the Las Vegas Strip which reported a total win of $463 million up 3.2 percent from last year.
Baccarat winnings on the Strip of $90.4 million were up $25.8 million or 40 percent, said Mike Lawton, senior control board analyst. Statewide, baccarat players wagered $648.7 million, an increase of $105.5 million or 19.4 percent. Luck also favored the house, which benefited from a hold percentage of nearly 14 percent, compared with 12 percent in April 2013.
Without baccarat, a high-roller game favored by Asian players, Strip gambling revenues would have dropped 3 percent or $11.5 million, while the statewide revenue total would have fallen 3.5 percent or $27.7 million compared with a year ago.
Online poker offered by three companies in Nevada generated $792,000 in April, a 14.5 percent decrease from March. In the 11 months online poker has been available in Nevada to in-state players, the game has generated $10.2 million in casino winnings.
The State collected $47,894,166 in percentage fees during the month of May 2014, based upon the taxable revenues generated in April 2014. This represents a 1.43% (or $675,526) increase compared to the prior year’s May, when percentage fee collections were $47,218,640.