Nevada casino revenue jumps 18 % in January

It's the first time casino revenues have surpassed the seven-figure threshold since September, 2008, said Michael Lawton, senior analyst with the Gaming Control Board.

The January win of us$ 1.04 billion compared with a statewide tally of us$ us$ 77 million in January 2011. It also marked the fourth consecutive increase in gambling revenue for the state, something that hasn't been recorded since 2007, Lawton said.

Chinese New Year drew heavy betting on baccarat, a high-roller game favored by Asian players. January results were also helped by a favorable holiday calendar. "Obviously the big percentage difference has to do with the fact the Chinese New Year was in January. Last year it was in February," Lawton said.

On the Las Vegas Strip, Nevada's tourism and gambling mecca, casino revenues increased more than 29 percent. Casinos took in us$ 624 million from gamblers compared with us$ 483 million in January 2011.

The "casino win" is what remained in casino coffers after gamblers statewide wagered us$ 11.9 billion on slot machines and table and card games. A breakdown shows the us$ 8.5 billion pumped into slot machines was up about us$ 57 million from January, 2011, while us$ 3.4 billion wagered on table games jumped us$ 1.1 billion.

In January, the drop or amount wagered on baccarat was us$ 1.6 billion, up us$ 965 million compared with last year, and casinos won us$ 194.8 million, a nearly 200 % increase. "The baccarat win and drop are the second largest amounts ever recorded in state history," Lawton said.

Regulators collected us$ 57.4 million in taxes based on January's revenues, a 16.5 percent decline from last year. But the decline is misleading because casinos don't pay fees on wagers placed on credit until the debt is actually paid. The state estimates roughly $19 million in taxes remains outstanding from January winnings.

Baccarat has kept Nevada's gambling revenues afloat during the Great Recession. But Lawton said other sectors are showing signs of growth and stability, and noted that excluding baccarat, the statewide win was still up nearly 4 percent.

In downtown Las Vegas, revenue of us$ 47 million was up nearly 14 percent, and so-called local markets - North Las Vegas, the Boulder Strip - also reported gains. The story was different in Washoe County, where Reno casino revenues of us$ 38 million were down 8.6 percent. South Lake Tahoe's us$ 17 million win in January was up 2 percent.