Nevada still battles

With the latest disappointing land casino results in from Nevada, it’s likely that operators in the gambling state will be hoping for a boost to revenues following this (June) month’s World Series of Poker currently running in Las Vegas.
The latest statistics show that statewide revenues endured a seventh straight month of double-digit declines, with April recording the sixteenth consecutive month that gaming revenues headed downhill compared to the previous year.
Statewide, gaming revenues reached $859.4 million during the month, compared with $1 billion in April 2008.
So far, for the first four months of 2009, casino revenues statewide are down 14.6 percent.
“We were disappointed with the number because we were comparing with a 5 percent decline a year ago,” said Frank Streshley, chief of the Gaming Control Board’s tax and license division, reporting the April figures on Friday.
On the Strip, gaming revenues were $441.3 million in April, a decline of 15.8 percent. Revenues are down on the Strip 16.6 percent for the (2009) year to date.
Customers gambled $2.2 billion in April on table games, which was an increase of less than 1 percent from a year ago. However, casino revenues from table games was $251.6 million, a decline of 20.5 percent. The hold percentage for tables games was 11.45 percent compared with 14.47 percent a year ago. Streshley estimated that if casinos held the same percent they did a year ago, gaming revenues would have been $66 million higher.
“Luck definitely played a factor and had a huge impact on gaming revenues,” the official said.
Revenues from slot machines were $596.2 million, a decline of 11.2 percent. Gamblers wagered $9.7 billion on slot machines in April, a decrease of 7.9 percent from a year ago, while the hold percentage on slot machines was 6.17 percent, compared with 6.4 percent in April 2008.
Gaming taxes based on the April casino revenues fell 5.9 percent to $51.8 million, and gaming tax collections in the fiscal year are down 14.6 percent.

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