Wendover casinos posted strong increases in total gaming win this May and will probably be among just a handful of districts that will be in the black when the just completed fiscal year report is out next month.
“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.
full report:mrrmay14
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 released last week Wendover casinos reported a total gaming win this May of $14.27 million up 7.17 percent from the same month last year. As usual the bulk of the total win came from the one armed bandits.
Slot win was up 8.4 percent to $11.6 million. Slot play was up 2.4 percent to $210.5 million. Slot hold increased from 5.2 percent in May 2013 to 5.5 percent this May.
On the tables win was up 2.4 percent to $2.7 million. Play was up 11.0 percent to $14.7 million while hold declined from 20.1 percent to 18.52 percent.
For the fiscal year Wendover clubs are up 2.89 percent to $154.4 million one of only three gaming districts on track to finish this fiscal year in the black. The others being Reno and the Las Vegas strip.
Casinos in the rest of Elko County did not fare as well in May posting a 2.07 percent decline in total gaming win to $7.76 million. Slot win was down 3.7 percent to $6.7 million. Slot play was slightly up from last May 0.1 percent to $108.3 million. Slot hold fell from 6.48 percent to 6.23 percent. On the tables win actually increased for the balance of Elko County to almost $1 million. According to the report casinos in Elko Wells and Jackpot reported a total table game and sports bet win of $950,000 up 12.83 percent from the same month last year. Play was also up 12 percent to $3.87 million. Hold increased but only slightly from 24.56 percent to 24.55 percent.
Nevada’s non restricted gaming licensees reported a total “gaming win” of $970,265,587 for the month of May 2014. This amounts to an 8.11% increase compared to May 2013, when licensees reported a gaming win of $897,438,790. For the fiscal year (July 1, 2013 through May 31, 2014), gaming win has increased 2.04%.
Nevada gaming revenue was up 8.1 percent from the same month a year ago, propelled largely by big winnings at the baccarat tables, according to the Nevada Gaming Control Board.
Casinos won $970.2 million in May, including $172.6 million from baccarat players. Gaming win is computed before taxes and business expenses.
“It was a baccarat month,” said Michael Lawton, senior research analyst for the board, which released its monthly revenue report today.
The welterweight championship fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Marcos Maidana at the MGM Grand helped draw big-time gamblers to Las Vegas, Lawton said. There was also a noticeable up tick in horse-race betting with the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness.
Casinos on the Las Vegas Strip reported winnings of $841.8 million, an increase of 8.9 percent from May 2013.
Reno casino revenue was up 4 percent in May to $52 million, and South Lake Tahoe gambling revenue was up 18 percent to $17 million.
The Nevada gaming industry is still well below pre-recession win numbers but compared with rest of the country Nevada gaming is doing surprisingly well. On the east cost several casinos in Atlantic City and other gaming areas announced either bankruptcies or out right closings from the start of the 2014 calendar year.
According to analyst the principal cause for most of the financial difficulties of the eastern casinos was the rapid expansion of the industry post recession without a similar expansion of the clientele.
In a related development the Peppermill Resorts launched the new online poker partnership late last month with Las Vegas-based Ultimate Poker.
Peppermill officials say players can make deposits at their flagship casino in Reno at the Western Village in Sparks, and three hotel-casinos in Wendover.
Gamblers must sign up online at PeppermillReno.com/Ultimate to open an account and then visit any of the casinos to make a secured deposit before playing.
The 2013 Nevada Legislature approved legal online poker within state borders. Ultimate Gaming, owned by Las Vegas-based Station Casinos, is one of three operating websites alongside World Series of Poker, owned by Caesars Entertainment, and Real Gaming, owned by the South Point.