Nevada gaming win tops $1 billion for fifth time this year

Nevada gaming win topped $1 billion in September — the fifth time it has done so this calendar year.

The total of just under $1.1 billion is a 6.8 percent, $67.7 million increase compared to September 2018.

The total was driven by a 54 percent increase in Baccarat win to $108.5 million despite the fact that Baccarat betting volume was down. Gaming Control Board analyst Mike Lawton said the percentage of bets the casinos kept — the hold — was 19.5 percent, far higher than the 12-month average of 12.5 percent.

Lawton said there were a number of top-flight special events in Las Vegas during the month. That included a Keith Urban concert at the newly remodeled Coliseum inside Caesar’s, two shows by Elton John at T-Mobile and a concert by the Eagles performing their entire Hotel California album.

Both Lake Tahoe reporting areas saw increases this September but the Carson Valley reporting area, which includes valley portions of Douglas County, suffered a decrease.

Carson reported $9.8 million in total win, a decrease of 4 percent of $403,000. But Carson had a very difficult comparison because last September was up 10.5 percent due to a huge increase in table game win a year ago. This year, game and table win fell 27 percent, accounting for $300,000 of that decrease. Slot win didn’t help, falling 1.1 percent or $102,000.

The area is up just eight tenths of a percent for the year.

South Lake Tahoe casinos reported $18.2 million in win, a 2.5 percent, $442,000 increase. They were up against a very soft comparison since win was down 15.8 percent last September. Slot win was up 6 percent, $773,000 but table game win fell 6.7 percent, essentially cutting the slot win gain in half.

But South Shore is down 3.4 percent for the year thus far.

North Shore casinos at Crystal Bay were up but only by a fraction under 1 percent, to $2.6 million. That increase is only $25,000 more than a year ago.

Washoe County was down 3.4 percent or $2.7 million in September. Total win was $76.2 million. Washoe is now down 1.4 percent for the calendar year.

Finally, Churchill County had a banner month in September, reporting a 6.49 percent increase over a year ago. Total win was $1,734,000.

The increase was the result of a solid 7 percent increase in slot win that offset a 6.1 percent decrease in game and table win. The vast majority of Churchill’s gaming win is slots with only $65,000 coming from games and the race and sports book category.