Strip casinos post 9 percent gain in gaming win
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A view of the Las Vegas Strip from atop the Stratosphere. Analysts at accounting firm PwC have boosted their growth projection for Nevada’s casino industry.
Wednesday
11 January 2012
8:10 a.m.
Buoyed by strong play in baccarat, casinos along the Las Vegas Strip won $495.2 million in November, a 9 percent gain from a year ago.
It was the second straight month the Strip has enjoyed good numbers, as the October win registered a 13.2 percent increase.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board reported today that statewide, casinos won $880.1 million, a 7 percent gain. The increase was especially healthy compared to figures from a year earlier, when gaming win fell 5.8 statewide and 4.1 percent on the Strip during November 2010.
Michael Lawton, senior research analyst for the board, said special events helped the Strip register the gain. Among events that attracted traffic to casinos were an Eagles concert, a Manny Pacquiao title fight and the World Series of Poker.
The win for the first 11 months last year was up 5.2 percent at Strip casinos.
Meanwhile, all other gaming areas in Clark County posted increased win except North Las Vegas and Laughlin.
Properties on the Boulder Strip registered a 12.4 percent increased win, the highest percentage gain in any area in the state. Winnings in downtown Las Vegas casinos rose 7.2 percent, while Mesquite was up 4.1 percent and the balance of Clark County rose 8.7 percent.
Gaming was off 4.7 percent in North Las Vegas and 1.8 percent in Laughlin.
The win in baccarat on the Strip reached $89 million, a jump of 29.3 percent. Lawton said there was more wagering in baccarat, and the casinos’ “hold” percent rose to 13.6 compared to 12.1 percent of a year ago.
One surprise was in roulette, where casinos won $25.4 million, an increase of 54.8 percent on the Strip. Winnings from blackjack fell 4 percent, craps increased 5.1 percent, sports betting was up 19 percent and slots increased 2.9 percent.
Lawton said the sports book win increase was due to a strong football betting month, with a 192 percent increase. But that large increase was due to a decline in November 2010.
The board reported gaming win rose 1.9 percent in Washoe County and declined 6.9 percent at South Lake Tahoe. Win was up 1.1 percent in Carson City and up 8.4 percent in Elko County.
The lack of snow prevented the skiing season from getting off at South Lake Tahoe and cut the tourist trade.
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So sadly, a massive loss a year ago, is somehow massaged/morphed into a gain when we come up a pitiful 9%.
My opinion only but.....set the tone and they will follow. A bum is a bum no matter how much he has in his ragged clothes.
Vegas needs to get real and understand their gaming share will continue to flatten unless they bring back some magic. Vegas needs to go back to the days of class, required dressing for dinner, great lounge acts that may be in the main room someday, inexpensive LUXURY rooms, inexpensive drinks and (WELL PREPARED) great food at low prices.
It seems most of the joints in town can learn from Mr. Wynn if they but would. You need more than one classy place to make magic and most places here lack even a pretense of magic. Many supposed leading luxury hotels here today have all the magic of a chain hotel in Provo, Utah.
Where are the acts following the headliners here that may become headliners themselves someday? The rat pack brought their magic AND they also brought in their lesser lights to staff the lounge. Wayne Newton in the lounge for a drink in the old days etc. When I was a kid the atmosphere was magic (or at least it seemed that way).
The dreck now routinely served out by so called high end hotels is so bad it would not have made the Silver Slipper's buffet on a bad day. The days when the Sands provided a true gourmet Sunday buffet at an inexpensive price and people showed up in their Sunday best needs to return or we are cooked. The magic of Vegas is not in the poorly prepared and expensive "gourmet" food, the baking sun nor the cheap hot dogs nor the over expensive rooms nor the crowds hauling coolers thru the lobby in ragged jean shorts it is in making people feel special when they are here to set the scene for increased gambling profits.
Malous:
You are soooooo right. The corporate controlled houses are only looking at the next quarters profits and being short-sided on real growth, future growth.
Just walking down the strip is is getting to be a dangerous and tedious task. Trying to avoid the Batman's, Elvis's and the smut peddlers is like running a slalom course.
The comp system really needs to be upgraded, fixed and changed. Everyone that has a players card thinks that they are a VIP. It's all fake. The house gives you some points then takes it all back by charging exorbitant fees on meals and lodging. The days of a host making a decision on the spot need to come back. I hate to hear that I can't get a comp to even a buffet after I just dropped a thousand dollars on a table.
AP