Nevada records second-highest gaming wins

Nevada casinos recorded their second best month ever in March, raking in $1.06 billion.

That is the seventh time monthly winnings have exceeded the $1 billion mark since it first happened in March 2005. The highest month ever was last January, when total win was $1.14 billion.

Gaming Control Board Analyst Frank Streshley said March was also the 20th straight month of positive growth by Nevada casinos.

But western Nevada and Lake Tahoe didn't share in the boom, primarily because of the duration and bad timing of winter storms this spring. Not only did snow keep falling through March, Mother Nature repeatedly chose the weekends to dump on the Sierra Nevada, snarling traffic and discouraging thousands of visitors from making the journey.

Hardest hit was Stateline where total win was off 40.2 percent compared to March 2005. Casinos there won just $20.5 million for the month.

North Shore didn't fare much better with a 10.1 percent drop compared to a year ago and winnings totaling just $2.75 million.

The other primary victim was Washoe County, where winnings dropped 3.15 percent to $83.6 million for Washoe County's first decline in 10 months.

The Carson Valley area, which includes valley portions of Douglas County, reported an 8.5 percent increase in total win to $10.5 million. But Carson City and Minden area casinos are better insulated from the impact of bad weather because the capital in particular is primarily a locals' market.

Because of the industry's string of record months, Streshley said, gaming tax revenues are now more than $43 million ahead of projections used to build the state budget. He said overall gaming percentage tax collections set a record in March - $92.7 million.

That brings total gaming tax collections for the nine months of the fiscal year thus far to $665.9 million.

Statewide $1.062 billion 3%

Carson Valley $10.5 million 8.5%

South Shore $20.5 million -40.2%

North Shore $2.75 million -10.1%

Washoe County $83,6 million -3.15%

Reno $60.3 million -3.54%

Clark County $908.7 million 5%

Las Vegas Strip $546 million 6.2%