Nev. gaming revenues up 1.5% in 2012

A strong December helped push Nevada casinos to a $10.86 billion win in 2012.That $10.86 billion is 1.5 percent more than 2011’s total win and the second consecutive increase. But it’s still more than 15 percent below the industry’s peak of $12.8 billion in 2007.December 2012 saw a 10.24 percent increase statewide driven by a 13.5 percent increase on the Strip.The “win” is what was left in casino coffers after bettors wagered on table games, sports betting and slot machines. Western Nevada markets, however, didn’t share in the 2012 recovery. Reno was down 3 percent from the previous year, Washoe County and Carson City was down 2.5 percent and Sparks was down 2 percent.The bright spot in the region was South Shore at Lake Tahoe, which finished the year 1.6 percent higher than 2011’s total at $212.9 million in winnings. December was the icing on the cake for those casinos — 57 percent above the previous December at $20.9 million. All of that $7.6 million increase came from table games and the bulk of it — $4.5 million — in the “other games” category. At Tahoe, “other games” means Baccarat.Statewide table games showed a 2.9 percent gain over the year, bringing in just over $4 billion. Like Tahoe, the reason was Baccarat, which posted an 8.9 percent increase to $1.37 billion. Without Baccarat, games win would have increased just a half percent.“For three straight years, baccarat has recorded the largest win amount for any game, representing 12.7 percent of the total statewide gaming win,” said Gaming Control Board analyst Mike Lawton. “Ten years ago, it was 3.8 percent of total win.”Sports book winnings increased nearly 21 percent to $170 million for the year.The biggest generator still is slot win, which accounted for $6.78 billion in 2012. But that is just 62 percent of total win — the lowest that percentage has been since 1995.Lawton said the recovery on the Las Vegas Strip — up 2.3 percent to $6.2 billion in 2012 — is beginning to spill over into other Southern Nevada markets. Local markets there were up 1.4 percent.He said experts expect that trend to continue this year.In December, the Carson Valley Area, which includes valley portions of Douglas County as well as the capital, was off 4.5 percent, finishing the year at just over $98.1 million. In December, Carson Valley casinos reported $7.86 million in win.Washoe County experienced its sixth straight year of declining win. Total win of $727 million was the lowest since 1987 for Washoe at the area continued to suffer from competition by Indian casinos between Reno and the Bay Area. In December, Washoe was down 4.4 percent to $56.9 million.Casinos statewide won about $943 million during the month, and the state collected more than $39 million in taxes based on that amount.The state’s share represents a more than 23.5 percent increase from the previous year.For the fiscal year that began July 1, tax collections are up $1.8 million, or 0.5 percent, over projections made in November by the Economic Forum, an independent panel that forecasts state tax revenues.• The Associated Press contributed to this report.Area2012 WinPercentage ChangeStatewide$10.86 billion1.5%Carson Valley$98.15 million-2.5%South Shore$212.92 million1.6%North Shore$25.93 million0.2%Washoe County$727 million-2.5%Reno$523.85 million-3%Clark County$9.39 billion1.9%The Strip$6.2 billion2.3%AreaDecember WinPercentage ChangeStatewide$943.3 million10.24%Carson Valley$7.86 million-4.47%South Shore$20.95 million57%North Shore$1.82 million-18.3%Washoe County$55.89 million-4.42%Reno$39.98 million-4%Clark County$825.67 million11.22%The Strip$588.3 million13.49%