Casinos report largest monthly increase since '06

Nevada casinos in February reported their largest monthly increase since December 2006 - a 13.92 percent jump compared to the same month a year earlier.

But Gaming Control Board Analyst Frank Streshley said the main reason win jumped to

$946.6 million is simply a "calendar shift."

"Chinese New Year was in January last year, February this year," he said. "Super Bowl weekend this year was completely in February. Last year, only Super Bowl Sunday was in February."

He said a more accurate comparison is to add January and February together for both years. When that is done, Streshley said the picture still looks pretty good - a

5 percent increase in total win over the same period a year ago.

Visitor volume in Las Vegas for February was flat compared to the previous year, which Streshley said indicates that this year's visitors spent more money than last year's.

"It looks like we're at the bottom and maybe slowly starting to climb out," he said.

High-end baccarat set an all-time record at $206 million in win during Chinese New Year, doubling February 2009's take. A total of $1.2 billion was wagered on baccarat during February.

Nearly all baccarat and Super Bowl play is on the Las Vegas Strip. So, while the Strip saw an increase of almost 33 percent in total win, most other markets didn't fare very well.

Ten out of 18 reporting areas in the state were down in February. Most of those that gained were by less than 5 percent.

Among them was the Carson Valley Area, reporting its second increase in three months, up a half percent to $7.82 million. The area includes valley portions of Douglas County and Carson City.

Washoe County saw its first monthly increase in

32 months. Total win of $60.94 million equates to a 2.73 percent increase.

North Shore casinos at Lake Tahoe also recorded their first increase since March 2007. The $2.01 million in total win was a 12 percent increase from a year earlier.

South Shore casinos at Tahoe had another bad month, a 15.35 percent decrease on top of the

26.8 percent drop in February 2009. Total win there was just $14 million as Indian casinos in California continued to siphon off business.