Gaming win ticked up 1.3 percent statewide in September with casinos collecting $991.2 million, an increase of $12.3 million.
But the Carson Valley Area, which includes valley portions of Douglas County, saw a 10.5 percent, $970,000 increase for the month. While slot win was up a solid 6.9 percent, it was table games — specifically “21” play — that accounted for the biggest portion of the increase. That game accounted for $590,000 of the win, a 223 percent, increase. The total amount wagered increased $1 million and the players weren’t doing well as the percentage of bets the casinos held was 27.3 percent compared to 17.3 percent a year ago.
Total win in Carson was $10.2 million for the month.
Gaming Control Board Analyst Mike Lawton said that’s the Carson Valley’s 16th consecutive monthly increase and the area is up 6.6 percent for the calendar year.
But in Washoe County, a 1.4 percent, $1.1 million decrease ended that area’s 16 consecutive months of increases. Total win for September was $78.9 million but Washoe was facing a difficult comparison since win was up more than 8 percent last September.
Washoe is still up 5.2 percent for the calendar year to date.
North Shore casinos at Crystal Bay had a similar story, reporting a 12.7 percent, $370,000 decrease to $2.6 million. North Shore was up against a difficult comparison since the market was up 16.5 percent a year ago.
Slot win, which makes up the vast majority of North Shore win, was down 13.2 percent or $288,000.
That ends a streak of six consecutive monthly increases.
South Shore casinos at Lake Tahoe also saw a decrease in win for September, reporting $17.7 million. That’s down 15.8 percent or $3.3 million compared to a year ago. Slot win was down 17.3 percent and “21” win was down 63.8 percent or $1.2 million.
Even so, South Shore is up 5.4 percent for the calendar year.
Churchill County followed the pattern in most smaller markets, reporting a 2 percent decrease in win to $1.63 million for the month. Of that, $1.56 million is from slot play and just $70,000 from game and table win. But table game win was up more than 11 percent for the month.
While small, the 1.3 percent increase in statewide win was a good sign after two consecutive monthly decreases. Statewide, all major markets are in positive territory for the calendar year to date.
The sports pool had its best month ever, bringing in $56.3 million statewide. That’s a 26.7 percent, $11.9 million increase over a year ago and an all time record for sports pool win.
In the south, there were only two special events: the Alvarez-Golovkin fight at T-Mobile Arena and the NASCAR Southpoint 400.
Table Game win was down 7.7 percent to $354 million and Lawton said the problem was Baccarat which brought in just $70.4 million, a 26.9 percent decrease. Volume of play was off 14.8 percent and the hold percentage fell to 9.8 percent, well below the average 13.1 percent.
Lawton said without Baccarat, total statewide win would have been up $38.2 million or 4.3 percent.