Nye gaming operators on hot streak

Nye County gaming operators began the year on a roll, continuing a hot streak that started in the summer of 2017.

Casinos in the county have seen positive increases on a monthly basis in gaming win since July 2017, in stats compared to the same time a year earlier, according to data from the Nevada State Gaming Control Board.

In January 2018, Nye County’s gaming win rose by 1.85 percent over January 2017. That equated to more than $4.4 million in revenue for January, compared to over $4.3 million in the prior year.

The positive gains seen by the county’s casino operations started off with a bang. In July 2017, the monthly gaming revenue for the area jumped nearly 29 percent, over the same period a year earlier.

The gains in gaming revenue for Nye County have been in the double digits, but nothing near the start of the streak. The most recent large increase for Nye County was seen in December when the gaming win increased by 18.61 percent over the same time a year earlier.

Clark, Nye comparison

In neighboring Clark County, gaming numbers have been slightly down over the past several months, while Nye County has stayed in positive territory.

According to data from the gaming control board, Clark County’s gaming win in January was just over $892 million, a decline of 3.68 percent over the same period a year earlier.

January marked the fourth straight month Clark County has seen a decline in gaming revenues — a pattern that began in October.

According to experts, there was a little more to the January numbers being down in Clark County.

“There was an unfavorable calendar compared to January 2017 with one less weekend day,” said Michael Lawton, senior research analyst for the Tax and License Division of the control board, in a Feb. 28 report in the Review-Journal. “Secondly, and more importantly, Chinese New Year festivities began in January last year, but this year the celebrations were held entirely in February. With all that, we are pleased with this month’s results considering the calendar issues and the billion-dollar comparison. I anticipated a larger decrease than what was recorded.”

Statewide totals for gaming revenue reached $1.04 billion in January 2017—an increase of 12 percent from January 2016.

Comparably, statewide gaming revenue was down 2.05 percent in January 2018, when compared to the same time a year earlier. However, January marked the 36th time Nevada recorded more than $1 billion in gaming revenue on a monthly basis.

The first time the state recorded that kind of revenue was in March 2005, the Review-Journal reported. The highest win, on a monthly basis in the state, occurred in October 2017. The state brought in $1.165 billion that month.

Gaming news for Clark County wasn’t all bad.

Clark County was up 1.17 percent in January 2018 when looking at the last 12 months. The increase was compared to January 2017—which used data running from Feb. 1, 2016 to Jan. 31, 2017.

Nye County also saw gains when comparing long-term data.

Nye County’s gaming revenue at the end of January, and the prior 12 months, was over $50.6 million. That was a jump of 7.7 percent over January 2017’s more than $47.3 million, which was based on the previous 12 months from that time.

Contact reporter Jeffrey Meehan at jmeehan@pvtimes.com. On Twitter: @pvtimes