Carson Valley, Lake gaming wins are up

Douglas County’s Stateline casinos wrapped up the fiscal year up $15.3 million, according to figures released by the Nevada Gaming Control Board.

The casinos won $223 million during fiscal year 2016-17, up 7.37 percent from the previous year.

According to the state, $20.5 million of that came in during June, up 9.38 percent over the same month in 2016.

A near record snowfall year at the Lake after last year’s above average year helped bring visitors to Lake Tahoe.

Stateline accounts for the lion’s share of Douglas County’s revenue from gaming taxes. The county budgeted $855,000 in gaming revenue over the past fiscal year. Officials anticipate receiving $965,000 in gaming revenue next year.

Casinos in the East Fork Township and Carson City, which the state combines, brought in $100.8 million during the fiscal year, up just over a percent. During June they brought in $8.4 million.

Merchants in Douglas County posted a 10.2 percent increase in May 2017 compared to the same month the previous year.

With one month left to go in the fiscal year, merchants are running 6.9 percent of the previous year bringing in $643 million in taxable sales.

The county’s largest category, food service and drinking places, posted a 5.3 percent increase in May, bringing in $11.2 million. Year over year, the category is up just a fifth of a percent, bringing in $145 million in taxable sales.

General merchandise sales, which includes both Douglas Walmarts and the Target, brought in $8.1 million in taxable sales, up 3.7 percent over May 2016.

Merchant wholesalers of durable goods sold $4.2 million in taxable products during the month, up slightly over last year. The sector is up 35.2 percent to $46.65 million over last year, according to the Nevada Department of Taxation.

Fair weather in May brought out gardeners and carpenters, who drove a $4.19 million month in the building material, garden equipment and supplies category. That’s a 33.7 percent increase over the same month last year.

Despite only having one small car dealership, Douglas merchants sold $4 million in motor vehicles and parts, bringing the annual total up to 10.9 percent.

Douglas County brought in a total of $901,344 in tax collections, well short of its guaranteed amount of $1.2 million from the state.

Douglas is one of eight counties whose sales tax revenue is guaranteed by the state. It receives the difference from those counties like Clark, Washoe and Carson City.

The number of jobless workers in Douglas County dropped below 1,000 or the first time since the Great Recession, according to figures issued by the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation.

That brought the unemployment rate down to 4.4 percent in Douglas.

According to the state, 21,461 were employed in Douglas County, which had a total labor force of 22,446.