CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — Nevada casino revenue dropped 6 percent in June and showed only a small uptick for the fiscal year, the Nevada Gaming Control Board reported Thursday.
Statewide, casinos won $832.5 million from gamblers in June, down from $885.7 million the same month a year ago.
The June results mark the second straight monthly decline and the third in the past four months, said Mike Lawton, senior analyst with the control board.
The state of Nevada collected $38 million in taxes based on the June revenue, which was down 27 percent. Collections don’t necessarily coincide with the amount of winnings reported because a lot of bets are made on credit and casinos don’t pay taxes on those until gamblers pay up.
Las Vegas Strip casinos, which account for more than half of statewide gambling revenue, reported winnings of $483.7 million in June, a decline of 4.5 percent. Downtown Las Vegas brought in $33.7 million posting a 13 percent drop.
Washoe County casinos had a much better month. Reno brought in nearly $50 million, up 9.4 percent up from the same time last year, while the county overall saw a 7.3 percent jump in winnings.
South Lake Tahoe revenue of $17 million was up 17 percent.
The “win” is what was left in casino coffers after gamblers wagered $11.2 billion in June playing cards, table games and slot machines. A breakdown shows $8.7 billion was bet at slot and video machines and $2.6 billion on table games. While the volume of play was up statewide, luck was on the side of gamblers, who beat the house more than in June 2011.
On the Strip, the $3.1 billion wagered on slots in June was down $63.2 million.
“We’ve had three consecutive declines for slot volume on the Strip,” Lawton said. “We’re a little concerned about that.
“We’ve lost some steam this quarter, for sure.”
For the fiscal year that ended June 30, total casino win totaled $10.7 billion, up 0.7 percent from the previous year. Wagers amounted to $139.7 billion, up 0.9 percent. Betting on slots rose 1 percent to $107 billion, while table game wagers inched up 0.6 percent to $31.8 billion.
While meager, the slot volume is the first increase reported since 2007, Lawton said.
The report also noted casino markets that cater more to locals than tourists saw modest gains, suggesting those areas may be starting to see a stabilizing of the economy.
