Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Baccarat, sports betting boost Strip casinos in September

Updated Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2010 | 10:27 a.m.

CARSON CITY – Baccarat and sports betting helped Las Vegas Strip casinos register $580.5 million in gross win in September, a 2.8 percent increase over a year ago.

“The baccarat win kept us where we had positives,” said Michael Lawton, senior research analyst for the Nevada Gaming Board, which issued its monthly report Wednesday. Without baccarat, the win at Strip casinos would have been down 3.2 percent.

The board reported, however, that downtown Las Vegas casinos suffered their 28th consecutive month of lower win figures, down 3.9 percent from a year ago. Gaming win is calculated before taxes and business expenses.

The board said statewide win was $917.8 million, an increase of 0.73 percent. Lawton said this was the first time since September and October 2007 the state has reported an increase in gross win for two consecutive months.

The 17 casinos on the Strip that have baccarat reported winnings from the game of $127.8 million, an increase of 29.7 percent. It was the largest September win in history.

The 36 Strip casinos that have sports books registered a win of $18.3 million, an increase of 12.7 percent boosted by the opening of the football season.

This was the second consecutive month of increased win on the Strip, which accounts for more than 50 percent of the state’s gaming revenue.

Lawton said there were no major special events this September. What was encouraging, he said, is that in September 2009, there were two conventions that brought 125,000 people to Las Vegas.

Those conventions were in August this year. So the gain on the Strip this September was without the Magic and World Market conventions of 2009.

The win on blackjack games on the Strip fell by 3.1 percent; craps was off 7.2 percent; roulette dropped 20.1 percent and slot win declined 1.8 percent.

The only other areas in Clark County that showed increases were in Laughlin, up 1.4 percent, and the Boulder Strip, with a 3.6 percent gain.

Gaming win in Mesquite fell 8.5 percent; North Las Vegas was off 6.9 percent and win at the balance of Clark County casinos dropped 1.3 percent.

Statewide, Washoe County casinos reported gross win of $68.3 million, down 5.3 percent.

The board said the Carson Valley area had a win of $8.9 million, up 10.8 percent; South Lake Tahoe fell by 8.2 percent and Elko County was off 4.3 percent.

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