Casino winnings down 8.3 percent

Nevada casinos won $889 million from gamblers in May, down 8.3 percent compared with their May 2008 win, according to a state report released Thursday.

The Gaming Control Board reported that the win, down from nearly $1 billion a year earlier, marked the 17th month in a row that the clubs reported declines.

The slump persisted despite several Las Vegas events, including Jimmy Buffett and Dave Matthews concerts and the Manny Pacquiao-Ricky Hatton boxing match.

With one more month to report, casino winnings for the 2009 fiscal year total just under $10 billion so far. That's down 13.7 percent.

The May win was the amount left in casino coffers after gamblers wagered $12.6 billion during the month, including $10.1 billion in slot machine bets. The balance was wagered on table games.

"With a weak month even with the amount of special events going on in Las Vegas, it indicates that we might not be at the bottom yet, that things are still declining at a pretty steep pace," Control Board analyst Frank Streshley said.

The report also notes the state collected $50.8 million in taxes based on the May win. That was down 19.9 percent from a year earlier. The collections were the last for the fiscal year that ended June 30, and brought the tax total to $655.4 million, down 15 percent.

Streshley said the fiscal-year tax total was nearly $8 million lower than the figure projected only two months ago by Nevada's Economic Forum, whose estimates were used by state lawmakers in approving the state's budget.

The win was down during May in most major markets in the state, including the Las Vegas Strip in southern Nevada, which was off 6.4 percent.

Elsewhere in southern Nevada, Laughlin was down 15.1 percent, downtown Las Vegas declined 10.7 percent, and Mesquite was down 22.1 percent. North Las Vegas was up 2.9 percent and the Boulder Strip was up 10.3 percent.

Casino winnings in the Reno-Sparks-North Tahoe area of northern Nevada was down 8.6 percent. It was the 23rd consecutive month of declines for that area.

Elsewhere in northern Nevada, resorts on Lake Tahoe's south shore reported a 25.5 percent decrease in May compared with the same month a year earlier. Clubs in Elko County, in eastern Nevada, were down 5.7 percent.

A statewide game-by-game breakdown shows that casinos' slot winnings were off 12.9 percent. Thanks to big losses by baccarat players in Las Vegas, table games were up 1.1 percent compared with May 2008.

Slots accounted for $563.3 million of the total win. That included $260 million won by multidenomination slots, down 8.3 percent. Penny slots were second, with a win of $156.7 million, down 0.4 percent.

Live games accounted for the balance of the May total. That included $96.2 million won from baccarat players, up 36.6 percent; $87.2 million won on blackjack tables, down 12 percent; $31.1 million on craps, down 18 percent; and $29.2 million on roulette, up 8.6 percent. Sports books won $5.6 million, down 11.4 percent.

"Win" is a gross figure, with no operating costs or other expenses deducted. It represents casino revenue only, not hotel, restaurant or bar revenues.