Nevada casinos report second straight $1 billion month

CARSON CITY, Nev. — For the first time in a decade, Nevada casinos reported winning more than $1 billion in two consecutive months in February.

The last time casinos recorded consecutive billion dollar months was in March and April 2008.

Total win for the month was up 7.68 percent or $72.6 million over February 2017 as baccarat play fueled by Chinese New Year rose 80 percent to $177.3 million.

The baccarat numbers helped end a streak of four consecutive monthly decreases in win on the Las Vegas Strip. In February, the Strip saw an 11.37 percent increase in total win to $603.5 million.

But slot play helped out as well, notching a 4.2 percent increase worth $24.3 million.

The $605.5 million in slot win is the 12th consecutive monthly increase in that category as bettors wagered $9.1 billion total in the machines.

Game and Table win overall was $412.3 million, a 13.3 percent, $48.3 million increase almost entirely attributable to baccarat since craps, roulette and the sports pool win were all down. The biggest decrease was in “21,” which was down 17.2 percent.

Total statewide win in February was $1.017 billion, a tad higher than the $1.015 billion reported in January.

The Carson Valley Area, which includes valley portions of Douglas County as well as the capital, was up 2.7 percent to $8.1 million in February. But that came against an easy comparison since the area was down 3.9 percent in February 2017.

Slot win was up 5.9 percent or $432,000. But Game and Table win, which makes up only a tiny portion of Carson’s win, was down 38 percent or $218,000 as “21” win numbers returned to a more normal hold of 14.4 percent. A year ago, Carson casinos held 22.3 percent of “21” bets.

For the calendar year, Carson is up 4.9 percent and February marked the ninth consecutive monthly increase for the area.

South Lake Tahoe casinos at Stateline reported $19.9 million in win, up 32 percent or $4.8 million from a year ago. It was an easy comparison because of the heavy winter a year ago that had Highway 50 closed or down to one lane of travel through the early part of the year.

Slot win was up 24.5 percent or $2.4 million compared to a 15.6 percent decrease a year ago. Game and Table win was up 45.5 percent.

North Shore casinos at Crystal Bay reported a 6.1 percent decrease this February to $1.9 million. Slot win was down 9.5 percent. For the calendar year, North Shore is down 3.9 percent in two months.

Washoe County recorded its 10th consecutive monthly increase with a 5.6 percent gain to $64.9 million in February. Again, last winter’s weather made for an easy comparison since February 2017 was down 6.7 percent due to road closures and chain requirements.