LAS VEGAS (AP) – Two card games were to blame for a less lucrative September in Las Vegas.
Blackjack and baccarat winnings by Strip casinos were short $56.8 million last month compared to a year ago, accounting for 83 percent of the drop there. Both the total amount bet and the percentage casinos won were down.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board reported Tuesday that casinos statewide brought in $902 million last month, a 6 percent drop compared to a year ago.
“It’s a little disappointing,” said Michael Lawton, senior research analyst for the Nevada Gaming Control Board. “I think we expected to perform a little better than we did.”
The state’s casinos have had a tough time achieving the kind of gambling wins seen last year that were largely due to baccarat, a volatile game that swings from big wins to big losses.
September 2014 was missing a weekend day but the month had a strong calendar of events that would have normally attracted players including an Ultimate Fighting Championship fight and a Floyd Mayweather versus Marcos Maidana boxing matchup, Lawton said.
Table game revenue had been up for five consecutive months until the streak ended in September, he said.
Las Vegas Strip gambling revenues were down 12 percent to $495 million, while downtown revenues were down 4 percent to $43 million.
Reno casinos won $48 million in September, which is down about 2 percent year-over-year. South Lake Tahoe gambling revenues of $24 million bucked the trend and was up 7 percent over last year.
Gambling revenues in the first three months of the fiscal year are down 3 percent over the same period in 2013.
Nevada collected $66 million in taxes based on the September winnings, which is up about 5 percent from last year.
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press.
