Churchill County gaming sees 3.77 percent increase

Churchill County casinos raked in $1.65 million in September. That’s a 3.77 percent increase over the same month last year.

Slot play, which makes up the vast majority of Churchill County gaming, was up just 1.68 percent to $1.57 million.

But the county’s three sports poll locations recorded an early 3,000 percent increase to more than $29,000 and table games were up 13.6 percent to more than $50,000. That’s a combined increase of nearly 76 percent and a total win in that category of $79,000.

Statewide, gaming win totaled $948.9 million, a 3.55 percent increase over the same month last year. Gaming Control Board Analyst Mike Lawton said the calendar helped with one more weekend day than last year. For the calendar year, statewide win still is down 1 percent but he said it has recorded increases in four of the last six months.

Baccarat win was just $92.9 million in September, down 7.8 percent. Lawton said the amount bet on Baccarat was actually down more than 25 percent but the players weren’t nearly as lucky as they were last year.

Without Baccarat, statewide win would have been up 4.9 percent or $40.3 million.

Carson Valley casinos scored a small increase in gaming win in September — ending a streak of six consecutive monthly decreases.

Carson Valley, which includes valley portions of Douglas County as well as the capital, reported gaming win of $8.83 million. That’s 1.54 percent or $134,000 more than the same month of 2015.

Lawton said the key was a 1.8 percent or $144,000 increase in slot win.

The area still is down 1.3 percent this calendar year.

The only other reporting area down for the calendar year is the Las Vegas Strip, off about 1 percent for the year. But the Strip had a solid September, reporting $542.5 million in win, a 7.5 percent increase.

North Shore casinos at Tahoe had a good month, winning $2.5 million. That’s an increase of 6.4 percent or $151,000. For the calendar year North Shore casinos are up 6.8 percent and have only reported two decreases this year.

South Shore casinos at Stateline saw a 2.3 percent increase, $483,000 to a total of $21.7 million. Like their counterparts at the north end of the lake, South Tahoe casinos have seen just two monthly decreases this year.

The increase was driven primarily by blackjack, which was up 29.9 percent or $570,000 over September 2015.

Washoe County casinos won a total of just more than $74 million in September. That’s a 3.6 percent or $2.5 million increase. Reno was only up by 1.6 percent but Sparks casinos reported a near 6 percent increase and “balance of county” casinos a 17.9 percent increase.