Nevada gaming win dips 3 percent; Churchill County shows gains

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Despite several major events on the Las Vegas Strip, Baccarat win fell 22.7 percent in November, causing statewide win for the month to dip by 3.1 percent.

Total win reported by major casinos finished in the money at $937.47 billion, a $29.6 million decrease from the previous November.

Normally, major events produce an increase in Baccarat play and November had shows by Guns and Roses, Madonna, Fleetwood Mac and a light heavyweight championship bout between Canello Alvarez and Sergey Kovalev.

Baccarat win totaled just $75.5 million, a $22.2 million decrease from November 2018. That came is now down 11.6 percent for the year with the volume of play down nearly 31 percent to $557 million.

Without counting Baccarat, total win would only have been down eight-tenths of a percent.

The bright spot of the month, according to Gaming Control Board analyst Mike Lawton, was the sports pool that reported a record $614.1 million in total wagers and $32.1 million in winnings for the month. For the calendar year, sports pool betting totals $4.7 billion, a 6.7 percent increase, and total win of 292.8 million, a 14.2 percent increase.

Slot win was down in November to $616.7 million, a 2.9 percent decrease worth $18.1 million. But slot play volume continued its gradual increase, rising 1.3 percent despite the decrease in win. In fact, Lawton said slot volume has only seen two monthly decreases in the past 24 months.

Churchill County was also another comparatively bright spot in the monthly numbers, reporting a 7.9 percent increase in total win to $1,853,000. While table games and sports win fell by nearly 53 percent, those categories account for just $29,000 of the Churchill total.

Slot win more than made up for that small loss with a 10.2 percent increase to $1.82 million.

In addition, it was an easy comparison since slot win was down nearly 8 percent in November 2018.

The Carson Valley Area, which includes valley portions of Douglas County, also reported a decrease. Total win of $8.8 million was down 2.2 percent or $194,000 compared to a year ago.

Slot win was actually up 2.8 percent or $234,000 but game and table win was down 59.8 percent or $428,000. That category was facing an extremely difficult comparison since game and table win was up 138 percent in November 2018. In “21” play, the hold percentage was 9.5 percent compared to 18.7 percent a year ago.

But the Carson Valley is up 1.2 percent for the calendar year.

North Shore casinos at Lake Tahoe were down but only by two-tenths of a percent — roughly $4,000. Total win there was $1.7 million.

North Shore is down 5.9 percent for the calendar year.

South Shore casinos at Tahoe reported $13.9 million in win, a 19.2 percent, $3.3 million decrease. It was a difficult comparison since total win was up 10.5 percent a year ago. Both slot win and table game win were down double digits. Slot win fell 17.8 percent and table games 23.1 percent. The primary culprit was “21” which was down $604,000 or 35.6 percent.

Washoe County casinos won $68.9 million, a half-percent, $353,000 less than a year ago. Since a year ago was up 9.5 percent, it was a difficult comparison. Washoe is now down nine-tenths of a percent for the year.

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Despite several major events on the Las Vegas Strip, Baccarat win fell 22.7 percent in November, causing statewide win for the month to dip by 3.1 percent.

Total win reported by major casinos finished in the money at $937.47 billion, a $29.6 million decrease from the previous November.

Normally, major events produce an increase in Baccarat play and November had shows by Guns and Roses, Madonna, Fleetwood Mac and a light heavyweight championship bout between Canello Alvarez and Sergey Kovalev.

Baccarat win totaled just $75.5 million, a $22.2 million decrease from November 2018. That came is now down 11.6 percent for the year with the volume of play down nearly 31 percent to $557 million.

Without counting Baccarat, total win would only have been down eight-tenths of a percent.

The bright spot of the month, according to Gaming Control Board analyst Mike Lawton, was the sports pool that reported a record $614.1 million in total wagers and $32.1 million in winnings for the month. For the calendar year, sports pool betting totals $4.7 billion, a 6.7 percent increase, and total win of 292.8 million, a 14.2 percent increase.

Slot win was down in November to $616.7 million, a 2.9 percent decrease worth $18.1 million. But slot play volume continued its gradual increase, rising 1.3 percent despite the decrease in win. In fact, Lawton said slot volume has only seen two monthly decreases in the past 24 months.

Churchill County was also another comparatively bright spot in the monthly numbers, reporting a 7.9 percent increase in total win to $1,853,000. While table games and sports win fell by nearly 53 percent, those categories account for just $29,000 of the Churchill total.

Slot win more than made up for that small loss with a 10.2 percent increase to $1.82 million.

In addition, it was an easy comparison since slot win was down nearly 8 percent in November 2018.

The Carson Valley Area, which includes valley portions of Douglas County, also reported a decrease. Total win of $8.8 million was down 2.2 percent or $194,000 compared to a year ago.

Slot win was actually up 2.8 percent or $234,000 but game and table win was down 59.8 percent or $428,000. That category was facing an extremely difficult comparison since game and table win was up 138 percent in November 2018. In “21” play, the hold percentage was 9.5 percent compared to 18.7 percent a year ago.

But the Carson Valley is up 1.2 percent for the calendar year.

North Shore casinos at Lake Tahoe were down but only by two-tenths of a percent — roughly $4,000. Total win there was $1.7 million.

North Shore is down 5.9 percent for the calendar year.

South Shore casinos at Tahoe reported $13.9 million in win, a 19.2 percent, $3.3 million decrease. It was a difficult comparison since total win was up 10.5 percent a year ago. Both slot win and table game win were down double digits. Slot win fell 17.8 percent and table games 23.1 percent. The primary culprit was “21” which was down $604,000 or 35.6 percent.

Washoe County casinos won $68.9 million, a half-percent, $353,000 less than a year ago. Since a year ago was up 9.5 percent, it was a difficult comparison. Washoe is now down nine-tenths of a percent for the year.