Gaming revenue up on Las Vegas Strip, statewide in January

A view of the Las Vegas Strip taken from a helicopter May 21, 2012.

Nevada gaming revenue rose notably in January, thanks to a particularly good month on the Strip, the state reported today.

The Gaming Control Board said Nevada casinos won $952.7 million last month, a 7.75 percent increase from January 2014. For the fiscal year beginning July 1, however, revenue is still down 2.12 percent.

Gaming revenue on the Strip, which accounts for a huge chunk of the state total, increased 15.4 percent from the year before to $576.8 million. Baccarat revenue there rose 68.5 percent to $137.7 million.

But the baccarat boost was hold-driven, said Michael Lawton, senior research analyst for the gaming board. Volume was still down for the fifth consecutive month.

In other words, the increase didn’t come from gamblers wagering more money. “Players weren’t quite as lucky,” Lawton said.

Clark County’s overall gaming revenue was up 7.84 percent to $838.2 million, but the rest of the county didn’t do as well as the Strip.

Downtown Las Vegas revenue declined 10.6 percent from last year to $38.6 million. North Las Vegas, Laughlin and the Boulder Strip recorded decreases of 6.4 percent, 0.8 percent and 15.4 percent, respectively.

Meanwhile, Mesquite’s gaming revenue increased 6.07 percent.

A report from Union Gaming was optimistic about January’s revenue. It said the Las Vegas locals market recorded “deceivingly low win numbers” because the month ended on a weekend. That means some of January’s slot win will be recorded in February.

“Las Vegas kicked off 2015 with a strong start in January, as volume metrics on the Strip and in the Locals markets continued to trend higher,” the Union Gaming report said. “Overall, the Las Vegas recovery continues to accelerate, being supported by improving housing trends, unemployment and lower gas prices.”

Washoe County did well, too, with casinos there winning $59.9 million, up 12.38 percent. Reno saw a 14.2 percent increase.

The state collected $68.4 million in taxes on January’s revenue, down 1.68 percent from the year before.

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