Nevada casinos won $8 bil. in 1998

CARSON CITY -- Slot machine play carried Nevada casinos in 1998, helping them to increase winnings to $8 billion. That's up 3.4 percent from 1997.

The state Gaming Control Board today reported slot win hit $5.2 billion, up 7.7 percent; while table revenues fell 3.9 percent to $2.7 billion.

The Board earlier this month reported casinos earned $1.1 billion in profits in the last fiscal year, up 2.9 percent from fiscal year 1997. The profits were earned on both gaming and nongaming revenue.

Russell Guindon, senior research analyst for the board, said table game win fell in nine of the 12 months during the year.

Slot win accounted for 65.3 percent of total gaming revenue, a 2.6 percent increase over 1997. This is the highest share slot revenue ever contributed to total win. Guindon said in the previous two years, slot win and table revenue were stable.

In 1998, players chased a record Megabucks jackpot that was eventually hit in November for $27.6 million. The win from Megabucks rose 98 percent during the year. And nickel slots continued to gain popularity, with the win up 34 percent.

The Las Vegas Strip, the largest gaming market in the state, posted a $3.8 billion win, up only one-tenth of 1 percent. While slot revenues jumped by 6.5 percent, table game winnings fell by 5.8 percent. A major reason for the decline in revenue for games was baccarat, which suffered a 20 percent decline at Strip casinos.

For the second straight year, downtown Las Vegas posted flat winnings, which are computed before business expenses and taxes. The board said the clubs in "Glitter Gulch" reported winnings of $678.7 million with slot machines up 3.6 percent but table games down 8.6 percent.

Laughlin casinos in 1998 reported gross win at $491.4 million, up 1.9 percent. While that wasn't large, it was the first increase in calendar year win in five years, said Guindon. Slot win rose 3 percent while table revenue fell 3.5 percent.

The Boulder Strip posted $512.5 million in winnings, up 23.1 percent with the opening of new clubs. Its slot win was up 24.8 percent and table revenue rose 13.4 percent.

North Las Vegas clubs posted a 16.1 percent increase in win to $188.9 million. Slot win jumped 18.7 percent while game and table revenue inched up 1 percent.

The board reported winnings in casinos in Washoe County rose 2.9 percent to $1 billion; South Shore Lake Tahoe increased 4.8 percent to $308.7 million, the first time in four years it has shown an increase; Carson Valley clubs reported $81 million, up 9.8 percent and it's strongest percentage growth in 15 years and Elko County registered a 4.4 percent increase with $207.1 million in gross win.

The board said casino win in December rose only 1.7 percent, due mainly to a poor performance on the Strip and in downtown Las Vegas casinos. Guindon said slot revenues jumped by 8.7 percent but game and table win fell by 7.3 percent.

One major factor, he said, was baccarat win falling 30 percent. There was both a decrease in the play and the win for baccarat.

Casinos on the Strip reported $346.9 million in gross win, down 3.5 percent and downtown clubs fell 7.7 percent with $52 million in gross revenue.

Guindon said that may be due to a lack of high end players in Southern Nevada in the final month of the year.

North Las Vegas casinos posted $15.9 million in revenues, up 3 percent; Laughlin rose 8.4 percent to $37.3 million and the Boulder Strip jumped 24.2 percent to $44.3 million.

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