Nevada gaming revenue down nearly 6 percent last month

Mona Shield Payne / Special to the Sun

Dice roll across the craps table during the opening of the Downtown Grand Las Vegas Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas Sunday, October 27, 2013.

Nevada gaming revenue dropped in September, the second straight month of decline, the state reported today.

The state Gaming Control Board said Nevada casinos won $901.7 million last month, a 5.96 percent drop from the same time last year. In August, revenue declined by 3.66 percent after consistent monthly increases all summer.

“I wouldn’t say it’s cause for concern. We are facing some difficult comparisons the past two months,” said Michael Lawton, senior research analyst for the board. “No reason to push the panic buttons yet.”

Lawton pointed out that last year, August casino revenue jumped 11.1 percent and September revenue increased 7.4 percent.

This year, the Strip saw one of the most substantial decreases, reporting revenue of $494.9 million in September. That’s down 12.12 percent from September 2013.

Downtown Las Vegas had similar luck, with revenue dropping 3.98 percent from last year to $43.5 million.

The rest of Clark County did comparatively better.

Laughlin saw a 3.92 percent revenue increase and the Boulder Strip saw a 14.28 percent increase from the same month last year. North Las Vegas and Mesquite reported modest increases of 0.53 percent and 1.19 percent, respectively.

Clark County’s overall gaming revenue for September was down 6.84 percent.

Baccarat win, regularly a driver of revenue growth in previous months, decreased 29.12 percent to $82.6 million. Lawton said it’s a “volatile game” prone to significant ups and downs.

Online poker revenue, meanwhile, also declined year over year by 8.95 percent to $693,000.

The state collected $65.9 million in taxes on September’s winnings, a 4.57 percent increase from last year.

Gaming

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