Casino Gambling Revenues Increasing in Las Vegas

The revenue, known as gaming win, rose to $1.04 billion from $958.5 million a year earlier, according to the state.  The government collected $65.5 million in percentage fees in August, up 1.1 percent from a year earlier.

In Las Vegas, the heart of Nevada's casino industry, gaming win increased nearly 10 percent to $531.7 million from a year earlier, the Gaming Control Board, the state's gambling regulator indicated.

Las Vegas casino properties include casinos operated by MGM Mirage Inc., Harrah's Entertainment Inc., Las Vegas Sands Corp, and Wynn Resorts Ltd.

Other major gambling companies with casinos in Nevada include Boyd Gaming Corp., and Station Casinos Inc.

 Casinos in Reno, located in northern Nevada, reported gaming revenue of $71.2 million, down 2 percent from a year earlier.

 Stronger Than Expected

Frank Streshley, senior research analyst for the board, said the July figures were "a lot stronger than expected" due to a July Fourth Holiday that fell on a Tuesday and became part of a four-day break for many tourists.

An analysis of the revenues demonstrated that slot machines accounted for about $698 million of the total. That included $302.7 million won by multi-denomination slots, up 38.5 percent. Penny slots were second with a win of $110 million, up 33.8 percent.

The board also said live games, including poker, accounted for the remaining $349 million of total. That included more than $120 million won on blackjack tables, up a massive 4.3 percent; $41.3 million on craps tables, up a significant 6.3 percent; $28.2 million on roulette, up 3.2 percent; and $4.2 million on sports pools, down a surprising 5.4 percent. Poker games earned $16.9 million, up a phenomenal 24.4 percent.

The Sugar Shane Mosley-Fernando Vargas fight in mid-July in Las Vegas also contributed to the increase in revenues, said Streshley.

But the American Century Celebrity Golf Championship at Lake Tahoe didn't contribute much, as the July win there was down a significant 6.7 percent compared with the same month in 2005.

The increased revenues for land-based casinos come just as the online gaming business, a spin-off of conventional casinos, is recovering from yet another bad bout of news. Online gambling company Sportingbet PLC, whose chairman was arrested in New York last week, said yesterday it hasn't been contacted by U.S. authorities regarding the matter and is continuing to operate as business as usual, continuing to take bets from the United States.

Company chairman Peter Dicks was detained at Kennedy Airport in New York City after his arrival on a flight from London, the company confirmed in a statement, adding that he was "not traveling on company business."

 
Customs discovered he had an outstanding warrant issued by Louisiana authorities. The May warrant charged Dicks, who lives in London, with gambling by computer, an infraction punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine.

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