Gaming win down for the eighth month in a row

Statewide gaming win was down in August compared to the same time last year, making it the eighth month in a row numbers have declined.

The 8.1 percent drop gave August a total win of $934.1 million " the lowest monthly win total since June 2006. But it wasn't nearly as bad as the nearly 13 percent dip in July.

The combination leaves the state with a 10.7 percent overall decrease for the first two months of the fiscal year. Gaming tax collections for the fiscal year so far are a bit better but still 9.43 percent below last year.

Across the state, markets depending on tourism saw their slot win drop. But game and table win helped ease the pain. Statewide, game and table win was up just shy of a half percent to $322.5 million, while statewide slot win fell 12.3 percent to $598.6 million for the month.

Gaming Control Board Analyst Frank Streshley said the smaller players just aren't spending as much when they come to Nevada's casinos.

"People are still coming to the casinos, but the spending levels have dropped off substantially from a year ago," he said.

Game and table play, he said, is being helped out by a solid international market with Asian, European and Middle Eastern players taking advantage of the weak dollar. He said that shows in the 40 percent increase in total Baccarat play in August.

The opposite was true for the markets depending primarily on local play " including Carson City. Most locals markets saw double-digit declines in game and table win.

"On the locals side, people have tightened up their spending," said Streshley.

The result, he said, is that while they may drop some coins in a slot, not as many are sitting down at a 21 table with a $100 bill.

In the Carson Valley area, which includes valley portions of Douglas County as well as the capital, slot win fell 8.4 percent while game and table win was down 12.7 percent. Total win for the month was $10.4 million.

In Washoe County, total win was down 2.4 percent to $93.4 million.

That is the 14th straight monthly decline in Washoe and, in August, the problem was an 11.5 percent drop in Sparks. A major reason was the more than 30 percent drop in game and table win.

Reno, drawing tourists for its Hot August Nights event, managed to pull out a small increase " just under 1 percent. That is Reno's first increase in nine months.

Likewise, South Shore casinos at Lake Tahoe, which rely heavily on tourists, saw a small increase in win " 1.3 percent to $30.9 million. Slots were down by 5.6 percent in that market. But game and table win was up 24.6 percent.

In contrast, North Lake Tahoe casinos saw a 7.6 percent decrease in win to $4.5 million. The decrease in slot win was 4.8 percent. The decrease in game and table win was 16 percent.

Statewide, Streshley said, the monthly win was hurt by the fact there were no major events in the south " no boxing matches and no large concerts.

He said the monthly total was artificially hurt by the fact the month ended on a Sunday. That means the final weekend's slot win isn't reported in the August numbers. He said that money will show up in September's numbers since it was counted the following Monday " Sept. 1.

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