The Nevada Gaming Control Board continued its onslaught of sub-par performance results for the state’s casinos this month. In recent figures released, it announced that statewide casino “win,” or revenue, dove by 18% in February year over year.
The Gaming Control Board revealed that casino win during February was $830 million, a drop of 18.12% in 2009 in comparison to 2008, when revenues were over $1 billion for the month. For the current fiscal year, which began back on July 1st, revenues are off by 14.53%. The Las Vegas Strip was one of the hardest hit areas. During the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP), poker players heading to Sin City for the popular event will see drastically reduced room rates in part due to revenues in February being off by 23.45% year over year. In contrast, Downtown Las Vegas, whose casinos include the home of “High Stakes Poker,” the Golden Nugget, saw its revenues contract by 11.42% year over year.
North Las Vegas saw its win drop by 21.91%, while gambling establishments in Laughlin were down by 19.15%. In what can be seen as positive news, two areas of Clark County, which includes Las Vegas, experienced an increase in revenue in February of 2009 in comparison to February of 2008. The Boulder Strip’s win rose by 0.07%, while in Mesquite, business was up by 0.68%. Overall, Clark County casino gaming revenue fell by 17.94%.
In Washoe County, revenues plummeted by 23.14% year over year. In Reno, the county’s flagship gambling Mecca, revenues were $42 million in February, a drop of 26.00%. In Sparks, casino win was off by 17.00% from last February’s tally of $13 million. In North Lake Tahoe, the news was equally as grim. Revenues fell by 23.88%, the third largest drop reported by any area of the state. South Lake Tahoe saw its revenues fall by the largest percentage reported, 26.82, to land at just over $16 million for the month.
Wendover and other areas of Elko County escaped the month relatively unscathed. Countywide revenues dropped by just 5.85% to $23.6 million. Wendover’s casino win fell by just 4.56%. In the Carson Valley area, revenue was $7.8 million in February of 2009, a slide of 17.08% compared to February of 2008. For the fiscal year to date, however, the news is not as bleak. Carson Valley revenues are off by a slim 9.14%. Those figures represent totals compiled from places such as Carson City, Gardnerville, Minden, and areas of Douglas County that are not located in South Lake Tahoe.
Fee collections for the month of March were also reported. The State of Nevada collected $65 million in fees, which is based on taxable revenue in February. The figure represented an increase of 22.60%, meaning even in a down month, revenues to the State increased significantly. The fee collections increased for the first time since July of 2008, when the amount collected based on June’s revenues was up 9.90%. Last month, fee collections were down a colossal 42.27%. During the fiscal year to date, fee revenues are off by a total of 16.28%.
The drop of 18.12% in February represented the 14th straight month in which revenues have fallen statewide. The last month that the Nevada Gaming Control Board reported an increase in revenue year over year was in December of 2007. Here is a month-by-month look at the decrease in revenues since then:
February of 2009: (18.12%)
January of 2009: (14.62%)
December of 2008: (18.94%)
November of 2008: (14.80%)
October of 2008: (22.33%)
September of 2008: (5.44%)
August of 2008: (8.10%)
July of 2008: (12.97%)
June of 2008: (1.11%)
May of 2008: (15.17%)
April of 2008: (5.05%)
March of 2008: (1.52%)
February of 2008: (3.93%)
January of 2008: (4.75%)
Read the full February casino gambling report by the Nevada Gaming Control Board.
