August gambling revenues down slightly in Nevada

Releasing statistics for August 2015 on Wednesday, the Nevada Gaming Control Board said that the state’s casinos kept $908 million of the money gamblers wagered, down 1.4 percent from the comparative period last year.

The returns were pulled down by an ongoing slide in baccarat play linked to a wavering economy and corruption clampdown in China, the regulator revealed.

Las Vegas Strip casino revenue fell nearly 5 percent to $527 million, while downtown Las Vegas brought in $40 million for a 15 percent gain. Reno casino revenue fell 4 percent to $51 million, and South Lake Tahoe revenue tumbled 34 percent to $19 million.

The state collected almost $52 million in tax money based off the winnings, a 2 percent increase from the same time last year.

Revenue from the “tables and games” sector, which includes bingo, keno and sports betting, totaled $332.6 million and was down 16.4 percent year-over-year. Baccarat led the sinking numbers, falling 25.1 percent to $127 million in a continuing slide that started a year ago.

Without the attrition from baccarat, the table and games results would have been more positive, analysts pointed out. Revenue from table games and other live betting, minus baccarat, was up 4 percent in August compared with last year.

Slot machines action remained a high point in the monthly stats; Nevada casino operators reported $575.7 million in slot revenue in August, up 10 percent from a year ago, as punters put $8.8 billion in slot machines. However, Board analyst Mike Lawton pointed out that slot play has yet to fully rebound to pre-recession levels.

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