Gaming win flat in November

The fact Nevada’s gaming win was flat in November compared to a year ago is actually good, not bad.

Gaming Control board Analyst Mike Lawton said Nov., 2013 was “a significant tough comparison.”

A year ago, Game and Table win was up 52 percent over the previous year, driven by an 81 percent increase in Baccarat win. That means even though Game and Table win was down 7.7 percent compared to a year ago, coming that close was a good sign for the industry.

In addition to Baccarat falling off a bit, he said “21,” craps and roulette were all down in November.

The result: statewide total win was up but only by four-100ths of a percent — just $337,000 to $876.3 million.

The good news, he said, is that sports betting continues to increase. November’s total betting volume was $535.5 million — an all-time record for the total wagered on sports contests. Of that, $400.7 million was bet on football, also an all-time record.

Slot winnings were up nearly 6 percent for the month to $527 million. But unlike table games, Nov., 2013 offered a soft comparison — down nearly 7 percent from the previous year.

In the Carson Valley area, which includes valley portions of Douglas County, total win fell eight-tenths of a percent to $7.96 million. Even though the vast majority of the area’s win comes from slots, the culprit this November was “21” which reported a 69 percent decrease in win compared to November last year. Both the percent the casinos held and the volume were off sharply.

South Shore casinos at Lake Tahoe continued their rollercoaster ride with a 30.4 percent decrease in total win for November. Slot win was down 32 percent but that’s compared to Nov., 2013 that saw a 25 percent increase in slot win.

North Shore casinos, however, were up a solid 22.1 percent to $1.75 million — an increase of $317,000 over a year ago. Slot win drove the numbers, increasing nearly 37 percent or $364,000 over a year ago.

In Churchill County, both table games and slots posted decreases in November. Total games win fell 21 percent to just $60,000 while slot win dropped 10.4 percent to just more than $1.5 million. Overall, Churchill’s win was down 11.13 percent to $1.565 million.