Football betting was very, very good to Wendover casinos in September according to last week’s report from the Nevada Gaming Control board.
According to the report revenue from table games and sports betting were up over 30 percent to $3.9 million. Hold was up to almost 25 percent from less than 20 percent a year before. Play was up just 4.3 percent.
“Sports betting accounted for most of the increase.” said Michael Lawton, senior research analyst for the state gaming agency.
“Win” is a gross figure, with no operating costs or other expenses deducted. And it’s casino revenue only _ separate from hotel, restaurant or bar revenues generated by the resorts.
While win indicates a casino market’s profitability another statistic “play” is an indicator of how casino workers are fairing. With some casino workers dependent on tips for up to half of their total income, play, the amount of money wagered by gamblers is a good indicator of how much casino workers received in tips and how many gamblers are actually in the casino.
Slot win in Wendover was down 5.4 percent to $11.2 million. Slot play was up at 10.0 percent to $280 million . Slot hold declined from 6.28 percent to 5.4 percent.
Total gaming win in Wendover was up just 1.78 percent to $15.1 million. Casinos in the rest of Elko County saw total gaming win down 4.68 percent. Slot win was up 5.3 percent to $7.6 million. Slot play was flat $108.2 million. Slot hold was up from 6.66 percent to 7.01 percent. Table games were up in the balance of Elko County posting total win of just under $1 million up 2.25 percent. Table play was off 8.9 percent at $4.1 million . Hold was up from 21.6 percent to 24.25 percent.
Football fever helped Nevada casinos win $892.7 million from gamblers in September for a modest 3.3 percent increase over September 2011, the state Gaming Control Board reported today.
Clark County reported a 3.7 percent gain, with the Las Vegas Strip posting a slight 1.2 percent increase with $496.8 million in revenues, the monthly report released today shows.
Most Southern Nevada markets reported increases in September, including a 6 percent gain in downtown Las Vegas and a 24.2 percent increase on the Boulder Strip.
Modest gains were reported across much of the rest of the state as well, with Washoe County posting a 0.6 percent gain, and South Lake Tahoe reporting a 5 percent increase in September over September 2011.
The slight increase in September came after a modest 3.1 percent decline in August.
Sports betting, particularly with the start of the NFL football season, was the major contributing factor for Nevada’s modest win, said Lawton.
Sports pools statewide won $53.4 million in September, an increase of 165.4 percent, or $33.3 million, over September 2011. The amount wagered was up 21.7 percent, or $75.1 million. And the amount “held” by the casinos was a strong 12.69 percent compared to 5.82 percent last year.
“Really what drove those results was football,” he said. “Football and sports pools total, the win amounts were record amounts for any month for the state in history. And then the handle, the amount wagered, was the second highest ever wagered for football and the highest amount ever for sports pools in total.”
Most bettors pick the favorites in sporting events and neither the college nor the NFL football teams did well in covering their point spreads in September, Lawton said. There were also two extra weekend days in September 2012 compared to September 2011 that helped drive the numbers.
The state had an overall gaming revenue increase of $28.7 million in September, and the sports pools were up $33.3 million by themselves, Lawton said.
“So without that it wouldn’t have been an increase for the state this month,” he said.
