After rising year over year in November, gambling revenue in Nevada slid 3.24% in December 2009 compared to December 2008. In total, the state’s gaming establishments raked in $859 million two months ago.
In Clark County, the epicenter of gambling in Nevada, casino revenue, or “win,” was $753 million last December, down 2.41% from the $771 million recorded amid the worldwide recession in late 2008. On the Las Vegas Strip, however, casino revenues grew year over year to $502 million in 2009 from $474 million in 2008, a bump of 5.89%. The Strip’s Venetian will be hosting the inaugural United States stop on the PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) beginning on February 20th.
The success on the Strip may have led to the poor performance in Downtown Las Vegas, where win pulled in by casinos plummeted 12.39% to $36.2 million. Downtown Las Vegas recently saw the closure of the hotel side of Binion’s, formerly the home of the annual World Series of Poker (WSOP).
In North Las Vegas, the news was even grimmer. Despite a single-digit slide in revenues statewide, North Las Vegas casinos saw revenues sputter to $24.2 million, down 25.17% in December year over year. For the fiscal year to date, which began on July 1st, North Las Vegas has nevertheless managed to remain on track to repeat its previous year’s results. In Laughlin, revenues of $33.1 million represented an 11.68% dip year over year from the $37.4 million recorded in December 2008. Laughlin casinos include the Golden Nugget, Tropicana, Harrah’s, and Edgewater.
The Boulder Strip struggled mightily in December 2009. The area chalked up revenues of $61.2 million, down 19.81% from the $76.3 million recorded one year prior. For the fiscal year to date, casino win on the Boulder Strip is off 6.62% to $377 million. Over in Mesquite, the final segment reported within Clark County, casinos pulled in $9.2 million in December, a drop of 7.59% year over year. For the fiscal year to date, Mesquite remains one of the hardest hit areas, as its gambling revenues have cascaded 15.21% to $55.1 million.
In Washoe County, whose gambling hub is Reno, revenues of $53.4 million in December 2009 signified a tumble of 10.77% year over year. Reno made up the bulk of the county’s casino win, as the “Biggest Little City in the World” brought in $36.6 million two months ago, a drop of 12.19% year over year. For the fiscal year to date, Reno casinos including the Grand Sierra and Sands have raked in $288 million, off 14.45%.
In Sparks, whose cavalcade of gaming options includes the Silver Club, Terrible’s, and the Nugget, revenues of $9.8 million meant an 8.75% drop year over year. In North Lake Tahoe, casino win amounted to $2.3 million in December 2009, a fall of 11.65% year over year. All told, North Lake Tahoe casinos have seen fiscal year to date numbers drop by 15.27% to $16.3 million.
Also reported by the Nevada Gaming Control Board each month is the performance of casinos in Elko County, which includes the city of Wendover. There, casino revenues of $10.9 million in December 2009 represented a 5.56% drop year over year. Finally, in the Carson Valley Area, which authorities classify as Carson City, Gardnerville, Minden, and all other areas of Douglas County except South Lake Tahoe, revenues were up 8.52% year over year to $8.1 million, the largest percentage increase reported anywhere.
The State of Nevada collects fees based on the previous month’s revenues in its casinos. Accordingly, fees were off 6.66% in January on revenue accrued in December to $33.5 million. Fee collections have dropped in six of the last seven reported months, with December’s total representing the only growth year over year.
