On Thursday, the Nevada Gaming Control Board released the August figures for casino gaming in the state, showing a 5.2% decrease when compared to the same month last year. The lower results are believed to be due to fewer weekend days and baccarat doing poorly for casinos overall. For the month, $861 million was won by the state, an amount that is actually the lowest monthly total since June of last year.
Despite the decrease in monthly earnings, the state is still up for the first eight months of the year, when compared to last year, at .7%. The results showed the Las Vegas Strip dropped 14.8% in earnings, bringing in only $450 million for the month. As far as baccarat is concerned, the game dropped just over 42% with $53.4 million in earnings.
Control board analyst, Michael Lawton, stated that baccarat earnings have been choppy. The state expects to see volatility every month. If the game of baccarat had not been considered in the monthly totals, the state would have been able to experience a net gain of almost $6 million. Lawton stated the entire decrease in the state’s earnings can be attributed to the game of baccarat.
Slot gaming was up with $594 million in casino winnings with the actual percentage being an increase of 3.2% for the month. When looking off the Strip, results varied. In Downtown Las Vegas, a 7% increase was reported, with $43 million in earnings created. In South Lake Tahoe, revenues were up quite a bit with $24 million earned, an almost 30% increase. Reno earnings were flat, with $51 million reported.
Overall, the state was able to earn $48 million in taxes which is an 8% decrease from 2015.