Nevada not out of the woods yet

The land gambling business in Nevada may be seeing some light at the end of the tunnel after a truly terrible few years of economic recession, but it’s not out of the woods yet according to the latest financial numbers released Friday by the state regulator.

The Associated Press news agency reports that the statistics show Nevada’s largest casinos (those that gross more than $1 million in gambling revenue) suffered a combined net loss of $1.35 billion in 2013, marking the fifth straight year without an overall profit.

Taking a positive view, the Nevada Gaming Control Board, revealed that total revenue of the 263 casinos included in this year’s report rose for the third consecutive year, to $23 billion, an increase of 0.4 percent, or $99.2 million, compared with 2012.

The Las Vegas Strip operations reported narrowing losses, and for the first time since 2007, the growth of gambling revenue outpaced the growth from other aspects such as hotel rooms, food, beverages and entertainment, AP notes.

The Strip’s gambling revenue of $5.7 billion was up 3.5 percent from 2012, while its total revenue of $15.5 billion rose 1.7 percent.

“It’s a positive for the Strip,” NGCB analyst Mike Lawton said. “Revenues increased and the net loss decreased.”

The 150 Clark County casinos included in the report had a combined net loss of $1.3 billion on total revenue of $20.6 billion, whilst elsewhere in the state Washoe County casinos reported a profit of $719,000 and the 18 casinos in Elko County had $42.7 million in combined net income.

Five casinos on the south shore of Lake Tahoe had a net loss of $90 million, while the Carson Valley Area netted $7 million.

State-wide, the large casinos’ $10.4 billion in gambling revenue rose 1.1 percent and accounted for 45 percent of total revenue, the second lowest percentage ever recorded.

Associated Press reports that Nevada casinos have not posted a net profit since 2008, when profits totaled $721 million just before the recession took hold.

Land casinos in 2009 had a loss of nearly $6.8 billion in the Silver State.

The 263 casinos included in the Nevada Gaming Control Board report this year paid $804 million in gambling taxes and fees to the state.