Nevada casinos won $1.02 billion from gamblers in May 2005
Nevada casinos won $1.02 billion from gamblers in May – their second best month ever – for a 12.5 percent gain over the same month in 2004, a state report showed Tuesday.
The $1.02 billion statewide win during May included $686.4 million from slot machines and $321.3 million from table games. Poker accounted for the balance.
Games that produced the most revenue included blackjack at $107.9 million, down 8.2 percent; craps at $39.4 million, down 7.5 percent; and baccarat at $58.5 million, up 21.3 percent. Poker games won $11.8 million, up 33.5 percent.
Slot revenues included $230.1 million from multidenomination slots, up 64.3 percent. Dollar slots won $101.2 million, up 8.5 percent; quarter slots won $140.6 million, down 9.2 percent; and nickel slots won $80.1 million, down 24.7 percent.
The latest win, the best for any May, was slightly lower than the all-time monthly record of $1.03 billion set in March by the clubs.
The state Gaming Control Board said the gain was helped by the first full month of operations at the Wynn Las Vegas, the Winky Wright-Felix Trinidad middleweight fight and the "Tiger Jam" benefit concert in Las Vegas.
The GCB's Frank Streshley said there was some concern that the new Wynn resort would "cannibalize" other Las Vegas Strip resorts "but most other properties did well. The Wynn is growing the Strip."
"May marked the tenth straight increase Nevada has had in monthly gaming win," Gov. Kenny Guinn stated. "The Las Vegas market continues to exhibit tremendous strength with no signs of a slowdown in the near future."
The win was the amount left in casino coffers after gamblers wagered $13.7 billion during May, including $11.2 billion on slots and the rest on table games. "Win" is a gross figure, with no operating costs or other expenses deducted. And it's casino revenue only – separate from hotel, restaurant or bar revenues generated by the resorts.
The state collected $72.9 million in percentage fees based on the May win, up 32.8 percent compared with the fees collected for the same month in 2004.
With the fiscal year over for percentage fees, the total collections are 0.8 percent above recent predictions by the state's Economic Forum. For the fiscal period, the total was $712.1 million. That's up 5.2 percent from last fiscal year's collection total.
Las Vegas Strip resorts accounted for $538.8 million of the May win, up 14.8 percent. Downtown Las Vegas was down 3.3 percent, while North Las Vegas was up 41.8 percent and the Boulder Strip was up 18.6 percent.
In northern Nevada, Reno clubs were down 2.8 percent. Sparks casinos were down 1 percent and Stateline casinos on Tahoe's south shore were down 3.5 percent. Carson City-Carson Valley casinos were up 11.6 percent – for their 25th consecutive month of increases.
