Major Nevada casinos narrow losses for 2010 to us$ 3.4 billion

The Nevada Gaming Control Board said in its Gaming Abstract on Monday that the 256 casinos that grossed at least us$ 1 million in gambling revenue combined for nearly us$ 21 billion in total revenue, including money earned from hotel rooms, restaurants, bars and other sources. That was down more than 5 percent compared with just over us$ 22 billion taken in by 260 large casinos in fiscal 2009, regulators said.

The report said 76.2 percent of the total gambling revenue came from 68 casinos owned by publicly-traded companies. The casinos paid us$ 777.6 million in taxes, 7.8 percent of their gambling revenue. Gambling revenue made up nearly us$ 10 billion, 47.5 percent of casinos total revenue.

Nearly us$ 4 billion of the cost cuts came from general and administrative expenses, which were 25.8 percent less in fiscal 2010 than in fiscal 2009. Casino, food and other expenses were also down, while room and bar expenses rose.

The largest 148 casinos in Clark County, Nevada's most populous county which includes Las Vegas, lost us$ 3.36 billion and generated us$ 18.2 billion in total revenue. On the Las Vegas Strip, casinos lost us$ 2.57 billion on revenue of us$ 13.3 billion, the report said. In Washoe County, which includes Reno, 31 casinos combined to lose us$ 27.5 million on revenue of us$ 1.5 billion.

Only large casinos in Elko County, Laughlin, a Colorado River resort town 100 miles south of Las Vegas near the Arizona border, and other places not classified by region showed profits.