Casinos see growth trend as fiscal year ends

Nevada casinos saw a nearly 16 percent jump in winnings for June, capping the fiscal year with signs that business is beginning to come back.

Gaming Control Board Analyst Mike Lawton confirmed the trend, saying growth was 1.5 percent over the first six months of fiscal year 2011 and 4.5 percent for the second six months.

The only reporting area that didn't see significant improvement in the second half of the fiscal year was Laughlin, on the Arizona border.

Statewide, total casino winnings totaled $885.7 million in June - $122 million more than the previous June.

The primary reason was a nearly 500 percent increase in baccarat win compared to June 2010, which accounted for $88.6 million of that increase. Further boosted by increases in other games including blackjack, total game and table win exceeded $328 million for the month.

By comparison, slot win was up just 0.9 percent. But Lawton said the $8.6 billion wagered in slots during June was nearly 2 percent more than a year ago - the largest percentage increase for slots since June 2007.

Since baccarat is the realm of the rich, big-time gamblers known as "whales," operators see the rise in slot play as a healthy sign that regular bettors are beginning to return to Nevada's casinos.

The same is true for table games other than baccarat, which saw a 14 percent increase in the total "drop" - the amount wagered.

In addition, major operators say they've seen no sign that the budgetary turmoil in Washington, D.C., is discouraging visitors. Lawton said they haven't yet seen individual or group cancellations.

Since so much of the gain is attributed to baccarat, the primary beneficiary was the Las Vegas Strip. Other markets including Washoe County and the Carson Valley area, which includes valley portions of Douglas County, didn't fare as well.

Carson's total win was off 5.8 percent to $8.1 million, its third consecutive monthly decline. The comparison with a year ago was tough, however, since win grew more than 5 percent in June 2010. The problem was fewer players, spending less. Slot coin in was down 3.6 percent.

But for the fiscal year, Carson Valley casinos were marginally ahead of the previous year - 0.2 percent - at a total of $101.4 million.

Washoe was down 1.7 percent to $62.3 million, primarily because of a nearly 3 percent decline in Reno that more than offset a 6.5 percent gain in Sparks. For Washoe, Lawton said, this was the eighth consecutive monthly decline. For Reno it was the sixth, while Sparks has seen four consecutive monthly increases.

Washoe County casinos, facing stiff competition from Indian casinos in California, are down 33 percent from the win numbers in the year 2000 with no sign of recovery. For the fiscal year, Washoe was down 4.7 percent to $751.5 million.

Like Washoe County, Tahoe area casinos suffered, in part because the month of June started with a week of rain and snow in the Sierra, discouraging a number of visitors from making the trip.

North Lake Tahoe casinos were off 14 percent in June to $1.8 million - a drop of about $306,000 that was almost all the result of a decrease in slot play. For the year, those casinos raked in $27.4 million.

South Lake Tahoe casinos at Stateline were down 28.5 percent, but part of the problem there was the comparison with June 2010 when the south shore was up more than 13 percent. A year ago, those casinos held - kept - an extraordinary 28 percent of the money played on blackjack tables. This June, that hold percentage dropped back to a much more normal 11.8 percent.

South shore casinos finished the fiscal year 7.9 percent below the previous year in total win - $202.2 million.

Churchill County's 10 casino locations had a different story for June, reporting a 2.3 percent increase in win to $1.67 million. While game and table win in Churchill was down more than 20 percent, slots - which make up the vast majority of gaming in the county - were up 3 percent.

For the year, the $20,347 million total win was flat - up less than 1 percent. Altogether, $19.57 million of that total comes from slot play.

Area June win Percentage change

Statewide $885.7 million 15.98%

Carson Valley $8.12 million -5.8%

South Shore $14.13 million -28.55%

North Shore $1.87 million -14%

Washoe County $62.3 million -1.74%

Reno $45.7 million -2.88%

Clark County $767.7 million 19.94%

The Strip $506.7 million 32.3%

Area FY11 win Percentage change

Statewide $10.63 billion 2.98%

Carson Valley $101.38 million 0.19%

South Shore $202.2 million -7.9%

North Shore $27.4 million -2.15%

Washoe County $751.5 million -4.7%

Reno $48.49 million -4.5%

Clark County $9.16 billion 4.05%

The Strip $6 billion 7%