Nevada gambling revenues up 7.4 percent in September

It was the second-highest monthly total for the calendar year behind February, said Mike Lawton, senior analyst with the regulator. A major boxing tournament helped bring more high rollers to Las Vegas, which helped to build momentum, Lawton told the Associated Press news agency.

Winnings on the Las Vegas Strip of us$ 563.1 million were up 13.4 percent from the same month last year, while downtown Las Vegas revenues of us$ 45.3 million were up 2 percent.

Reno casinos saw their winnings drop 2.3 percent to us$ 48.3 million, while winnings in Washoe County as a whole fell 3.8 percent. South Lake Tahoe saw revenue jump 23.2 percent to us$ 22.1 million in September.

The state collected us$ 62.9 million in taxes based on September gambling winnings. us$ 2.7 billion was bet on card and dice games while us$ 8.6 billion was wagered on video and slot machines.

Statewide win for game and table games was us$ 377.9 million, up 13.5 percent of us$ 44.9 million. Of that, baccarat, a high-roller game favored by Asian players, accounted for us$ 116.6 million. Baccarat bettors wagered us$ 765.5 million, an increase of us$ 62.8 million or 8.9 percent over September 2012.
Besides the high volume of baccarat play, casinos also were extremely lucky, keeping 15.7 percent of all wagers compared with 11.1 percent last year, Lawton said. For the fiscal year that began July 1, statewide casino winnings are up 3 percent.

The Nevada gaming revenue results for September were released the same day MGM Resorts International reported third quarter earnings. Analysts said the company, which operates 10 resorts on the Strip, provides the best insight to the economic recovery in Las Vegas.

During a conference call with analysts and investors Thursday, MGM Resorts Chairman Jim Murren said he expects to see additional improvements in upcoming quarters. MGM Resorts, which operates 10 hotel-casinos on the Strip, said its net loss for the quarter that ended September 30 was us$ 31.8 million. A year ago, MGM Resorts lost us$ 181.2 million.

Stifel Nicolaus Capital Markets gaming analyst Steven Wieczynski said the Strip is well-positioned to build on visitation trends and a momentum for gross gaming revenues. “While the Strip’s recovery appears to be in full swing, we believe an encouraging 2014 group and convention outlook and strong events calendar could accelerate the improving trends,” he said.