Vegas April Earnings Down Again


Friday June 10,2011 : VEGAS REVENUES STILL TROUBLE
 
April numbers still down on previous year
 
The Nevada Gaming Control Board said Thursday that statewide gambling revenues were $806 million in April, compared with $810 million in April 2010 — a drop of less than 1 percent.
 
$42.6 million in taxes were levied on the revenues, $2.9 million more that the amount collected during the same month last year and an increase of 7.3 percent, reports Associated Press.
 
Industry observers said the taxes were up despite revenue being down because of credit play and collections from prior months. When players lose money gambling on casino credit, casinos tally the monthly revenue but it isn't taxed until the winnings are actually collected.
 
AP reports that following a double-digit jump in March this year, Las Vegas Strip casino winnings were down 2.2 percent to $427.5 million. Revenue from casinos on the Strip made up just over half the statewide revenues in April.
 
However, one analyst noted that the Strip's revenue would have been up 1.4 percent had its revenues for the last weekend of April been counted with the rest of the month, and slot machines kept an average win percentage.
 
Casinos in Lake Tahoe and Elko County reported the largest percentage jumps compared with the prior year.