Carson Valley posts small gain in casino win; most of state declines

A Las Vegas casino fire, a soft economy and poor weather held the win for Nevada casinos in January to $1.06 billion, down nearly 5 percent compared with the same month a year earlier.

The state Gaming Control Board said Friday that only one major market had a strong gain during the month, while most others were down " including the Las Vegas Strip and downtown Las Vegas in southern Nevada and the Reno-Sparks and Lake Tahoe in northern Nevada.

Carson Valley and Carson City posted a .8 of a percent gain, or $8.9 million.

Control Board analyst Frank Streshley said the Monte Carlo hotel-casino fire on the Las Vegas Strip in late January figured in the overall win decline of 4.8 percent, although that was offset in part by the grand opening of the Palazzo megaresort on the Strip earlier in the month.

Bad weather during the month resulted in some road closures, especially on routes leading to northern Nevada resorts, Streshley said. He added there were no big concerts, prize fights or other major events around the state " besides the Palazzo opening " to attract tourists.

The $1.06 billion win was the amount left in casino coffers after gamblers wagered $12.7 billion during January, including $10.2 billion in slot machine bets and the balance on table games.

Most major markets in the Las Vegas area had lower wins compared with January 2007. That included the Las Vegas Strip, with a 1.3 percent slump. The exception was Mesquite, up 25.9 percent.

In northern Nevada, clubs in Reno were down 8.6 percent while resorts on Lake Tahoe's south shore were down 14.4 percent. Elko County, in northeastern Nevada, was down 3.8 percent " the first decline for that market in more than a year.

The win for the resorts brought the state's tax take from the clubs to $566.1 million so far this fiscal year. That's $48.2 million, or 8.5 percent, below the amount predicted last spring by the state's Economic Forum.

A breakdown showed that slots were down 5.1 percent in January while table games were down 3.9 percent compared with the same month last year.

Slots accounted for about $700 million of the total win in January. That included $303.1 million won by multidenomination slots, down 3.2 percent. Penny slots were second with a win of $142 million, up 11.4 percent.

Live games, including poker, accounted for the balance of the January total. That included $106.5 million won on blackjack tables, down 9.3 percent; $40.5 million on craps, up 0.5 percent; and $33.2 million on roulette, up 22.6 percent.

The win on baccarat was $81 million, down 10.7 percent; and the win on mini-baccarat was $16.4 million, up 29.2 percent.

Sports books won $18 million in January, up 20.4 percent. Poker games won $12.8 million, down 7.9 percent.

"Win" is a gross figure, with no operating costs or other expenses deducted. It represents casino revenue only, not hotel, restaurant or bar revenues.