Stateline casinos post state’s biggest win

The casinos at Stateline posted the biggest single increase in gaming revenue in Nevada during September, according to figures released by the Nevada Gaming Control Board on Wednesday.

Making up for the spring closure due to the coronavirus outbreak, the chief source of Douglas County’s gaming revenue raked in $24.79 million during the month of September. That’s an increase of 36.3 percent from last year’s $18.19 million.

September is not usually a big month for Stateline, which tends to quiet down in the months between summer and ski season.

But several reports from Lake Tahoe is that tourism hasn’t slowed down at all, with visitors swamping the area to escape the heat and fires in California.

The $6.6 million increase year over year is the largest in the state, which was down 22.38 percent to $821 million. Clark County accounted for most of that drop bringing in $666.7 million during the month. Washoe County had a 3.4 percent increase, which amounted to a total of $2.6 million.

The casinos are still behind 11.8 percent for the fiscal year, which started July 1. In the first quarter, the casinos brought in $67.8 million down from 2019’s $76.8 million.

The casinos were closed by the coronavirus outbreak in March and reopened on June 4. The Lakeside Inn never reopened after the lockdown, which contributed to the decrease in gaming revenues.

Both Lake Tahoe and Carson Valley tourism officials are conducting a marketing campaign to draw visitors back to the area.

Douglas County committed the first expenditure of $476,000 from an $8.9 million federal grant designed to offset the coronavirus outbreak. The money will be used to market the resumption of tourism activities in the county.

“As we all know, tourism has been one of the hardest-hit sectors of our economy, and while Lake Tahoe has seen visitors as restrictions have lifted, our businesses and activities that rely on tourism are impacted,” said Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority President Carol Chaplin. “Douglas County recognized this and allocated a budget under the federal Coronavirus Relief Fund to support a campaign designed to restore travel confidence and talk about what businesses in our destination are doing to keep locals and visitors’ health and safety top of mind. This provides a unique opportunity to collaborate with area partners to reinforce safety messaging to a larger audience that wouldn’t have been possible without this funding.”

The campaign is designed to bring tourist to both the Lake and Carson Valley.

“We need to communicate differently today than we did seven months ago and the safety and welfare of our visitors’ needs remains top of mind,” Carson Valley Visitors Authority Executive Director Jan Vandermade said. “The campaign, while providing needed safety messaging, plays off our natural beauty with the ability to be physically distant as part of our DNA. We’re equally encouraging visitors to enjoy our area while taking personal responsibility. This combined message and collaboration between two naturally beautiful parts of our county is already resonating with our visitors.”