Tuesday, March 11, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
CARSON CITY -- Casinos in Clark County won $538.7 million in January, up 7.2 percent, despite a poor showing in baccarat and the sports pools.
"Every market in Clark County was up," said Russell Guindon, senior research analyst for the State Gaming Control Board, which released figures today showing the statewide win reached $646.6 million, up 4.4 percent.
But the Reno and South Lake Tahoe markets, hit by floods and closure of the highways from California, registered big losses in gross revenue.
"Overall, it was not a bad month in the state," Guindon said. The slot win was up 9.3 percent but gross revenues from the games and tables fell by 1.9 percent.
With the opening of the New York-New York hotel casino Jan. 3, Strip casinos reported winnings -- figured before taxes and business expenses -- of $337.4 million, up 6 percent. Gross revenue from the slot machines rose by 12 percent and the game and table win inched up 1.4 percent.
Guindon said baccarat winnings on the Strip fell by $20.4 million or 39.1 percent compared to January 1996. And the winnings from the sports pool dropped by $6.1 million or 6.2 percent.
He noted that, statewide, casinos won only $2.3 million on the Super Bowl, or $4.9 million less than in January 1996. Green Bay beat New England by 14 points, the spread posted by the oddsmakers, meaning neither the casinos nor the players won.
For the seventh straight month, downtown Las Vegas winnings increased compared to the same month a year ago. Clubs registered $58.6 million in gross revenue, up 6.1 percent. Slot revenues jumped by 11.1 percent but table game winnings fell by 2.6 percent.
Guindon said Main Street Station and the Stratosphere hotel-casinos are being counted in this January's figures. They were not open a year ago.
After nine straight months of declining revenues, Laughlin casinos recorded a turnaround. They won $47.3 million, up 5.3 percent. Slot win was up 7.9 percent but table games dipped by 5.6 percent.
Clubs along the Boulder Strip won $31.2 million, up 3.2 percent. Slot machine winnings rose by 7.6 percent but table play was off 17.1 percent, mainly from the sports pool betting.
North Las Vegas casinos continued strong showings, up 17.5 percent to $13.5 million.
It was a different story in Northern Nevada, where Washoe County casinos fell by 9.7 percent to $60.7 million in gross revenue for January as the floods closed some downtown Reno casinos.
At South Lake Tahoe, the gross win was $19.6 million, a decrease of 17.1 percent. The major highway, U.S. 50, was closed for several weeks into the Tahoe resort area.
Casinos in Carson Valley registered a 5.4 percent win, up 7.8 percent and Elko County posted a $15.6 million win, up 4.3 percent.
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