Chilled by local economic worries the Elko county gaming industry saw a 5.26 percent drop in total gaming win in October according to last week’s report from the state Gaming control board.
Total gaming win in the county fell from $22.7 million in October 2012 to $21.5 million.
While Wendover win was flat remaining at $13.7 million the win in the balance of the county plunged of 13 percent to $7.8 million.
The decline may reflect local worries about the all important gold ming industry which has seen several small layoffs this year and the price of gold falling from over $1,700 an ounce in January to less than $1,300 an ounce in November.
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Unlike most other areas in the state Elko County casinos excluding Wendover rely heavily on local play rather than tourists.
“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.
While reporting a very slight gain, 0.02 percent, in October Wendover casinos too have under performed for 2013. For the fiscal year the total gaming win is down 0.57 percent at $55.6 million.
Wendover slot win in October was down 0.1 percent at $10.7 million. Slot play was up 1.0 percent at $193.4 million. Hold was down slightly from 5.59 to 5.53. Win from sports betting and table games was up 0.6 percent to $3 million. Play was up 8.0 percent to $15.1 million. Hold fell from 21.49 to 20.0 percent.
In the balance of the county slot win fell 12.7 percent to $7 million. Play was down seven percent to $103.9 million. Hold dropped from 7.17 percent to 6.73 percent. Table game and sports betting win was down 7.4 percent to $924,000. Play was up 3.0 percent to $4.6 million. Hold decline from 21.65 percent to 19.48 percent.
For the rest of the state Nevada casinos dropped 2.5 percent in October to $954.3 million compared to $979.5 million the same month a year ago.
For the current fiscal year, the state has collected $279.8 million in taxes, a 0.3 percent decline from the previous year.
Michael Lawton, senior research analyst for the board, said timing was part of the reason for the drop. A portion of gaming revenue in September 2012 was rolled over to October, making for a difficult comparison, he said.
Casinos on the Las Vegas Strip reported a decline in revenue of 5 percent, with a gross win of $551.3 million. Strip casinos account for more than half of the gaming win statewide.
Revenue from downtown Las Vegas casinos, meanwhile, dropped 2.9 percent and North Las Vegas was off 0.6 percent. But revenue at Laughlin casinos was up 11.2 percent.
There were gains in other areas of Clark County, too.
The Boulder Strip showed an increase of 2.8 percent, and the Mesquite gaming win was up 1.8 percent after nine straight months of declines. The balance of Clark County recorded a 4.9 percent increase in revenue.
Washoe County’s gaming win fell by 0.01 percent and South Lake Tahoe was off 22.5 percent. Carson Valley casinos registered a 1.3 percent gain in revenue.