Gaming win down for 11th straight month

Nevada casinos took in $836.8 million in November, the lowest monthly gaming win in four years.

That is 14.8 percent — $145.3 million — less than casinos won in November 2007.

“We were hoping we would have a lot stronger numbers,” said Gaming Control Board analyst Frank Streshley. He said casinos in the south were optimistic because of the high-roller crowd drawn by Madonna’s two sold-out concerts at the MGM Grand Las Vegas.

Instead, they got the lowest statewide win total since July 2004.

Streshley said this is the first time he can recall when every reporting area in the state is down compared to a year ago, from Laughlin at the southern tip of the state to Wendover on the northeastern border. Nearly ever one of those markets was down by a double digit percentage.

Streshley said nearly every game and category of gaming was down for the month. Game and table win fell 14.3 percent to $266.7 million, with 21, craps, baccarat and roulette all down by double-digit percentages. Poker fell 12.7 percent and slots dropped 15 percent to $558.1 million for the month.

The only exception was sports book betting on football, which reported a 98 percent increase over a year ago to $24.2 million.

Furthermore, Streshley said, November’s numbers aren’t being compared to a strong month a year ago. November 2007 was down 13.9 percent from the year before that.

He said the numbers show that gamblers either aren’t coming or, if they do, are betting less. The total amount wagered in slots during November fell more than 12 percent to $9.7 billion. The games drop was down 10 percent to $1.2 billion.

The decrease follows on the heels of the largest ever decrease in casino win, October’s 22.3 percent decline, and marks the 11th straight month of year-over-year declines.

In the Carson Valley Area, which includes valley portions of Douglas County in addition to the Capital, casino win was down 16.4 percent to $8.3 million — $1.6 million less than the previous November. But unlike the rest of the state, Carson Valley was up in October, albeit only by 3.5 percent.

North Shore casinos at Crystal Bay also took a severe hit as win fell 27 percent to just $2 million. Slot play was down 24 percent but game and table win fell 35.6 percent at North Shore.

South Lake Tahoe casinos at Stateline were a comparative bright spot in the monthly numbers, down just 4.7 percent from a year ago. While slot win fell 9.7 percent, game win was up 7.5 percent. Total win there was $21.7 million.

Damage on the Strip was 16 percent, an $83.5 million dip compared to November 2007.

Washoe County win fell 15.2 percent to $68.2 million. It was Washoe’s 11th straight month of declines.

Contact reporter Geoff Dornan at gdornan@nevadaappeal.com or 687-8750.

Football betting win bright spot for casinos BY MIKE HOUSER Nevada Appeal Sports Writer Sports books bucked the downward trend in casino wins in a big way in November, taking in winnings of $24.2 million on football bets, an increase of 98 percent over last November. Dan Shapiro, director of marketing for Las Vegas-based Lucky’s Race & Sports Book, said he didn’t have a definite answer for why sports books did so much better with football this year, but a number of factors could be considered, beginning with the sport’s popularity among bettors. “My thought would be that betting on football is somewhat of a pastime in Nevada and people do it regardless of the economy,” Shapiro said. “It’s recession-proof, as opposed to other sorts of games.” Lucky’s is the operator and manager of several sports book, including those in Casino Fandango in Carson City and the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno. Shapiro said no distinction is made between pro and college football winnings. He said in addition to a lot of the games going the right way for the sports books, other factors responsible for nearly doubling November book winnings could have to do with the increasing difficulty of online sports betting with offshore bookmakers. Another possible reason bettors are having a tougher time could be the increasing parity in college and professional football. “The public bets toward favorites,” said Shapiro, who, without studying a five-year total, couldn’t supply more concrete explanation for the books’ November success. “In general, there was a fair share of upsets in November.”