Win by Vegas Casinos declines in April

11.06.2003, Lesen Sie hier den Bericht über «Win by Vegas Casinos declines in April».

The war with Iraq took a toll on Nevada casinos in April, cutting their total win to $744.6 million compared with $799.6 million in April 2002, a Friday report by the Gaming Control Board shows. The month's total was a 6.9 percent decrease compared with a year ago and a 4.1 percent slip from more "normal" 2001 levels, before the terrorist attacks and the accelerated downturn in leisure travel and the local economy, Gaming Control Board analyst Frank Streshley said. Clark County casinos won $608.9 million in April, down 5.9 percent from $647.1 million in 2002. All other jurisdictions showed similar slippage.

It was the first month of declining casino wins in Nevada since July. The win was 7 percent of the total $10.9 billion played in slot machines, on table games and at sports books. Win is a gross figure with no operating costs or other expenses deducted. It's just casino revenue and is separate from hotel, restaurant or bar revenues. The state also collected $39.7 million in percentage fees based on the win, down 17.5 percent compared with the $48.2 million collected in April 2002. In the first 11 months of the fiscal year ending June 30, the state collected $509.8 million, up 2.6 percent from from the previous 11-month period when collections totaled $409.8 million. However, a more appropriate comparison shows the state falling $25 million short of projections for the percentage fees, said Greg Bortolin, spokesman for Gov. Kenny Guinn. "Today's numbers are bleak," he said. "This is a scary trend. Almost two years past 9-11, gaming doesn't appear to be recovering very quickly, and gaming is our lifeblood." When you consider about half of the state general fund budget comes from the gaming industry, directly and indirectly, the tax shortfall "underscores the need for the broad-based business tax the governor has been calling for since January," he said. "We can't rely on gaming to pull all the freight any more," Bortolin said. But industry experts and analysts were more sanguine about Friday's report. "We took a soft hit, but not a full body punch," University of Nevada, Las Vegas professor and gaming industry expert Bill Thompson said. "This is not a sign we're going down, but that we're doing some things well." Deutsche Bank analyst Andrew Zarnett said the "war created a `do not' travel environment among Americans which in great part put an end to trips to Las Vegas for the time being."

In addition to the war in Iraq, the April decrease was caused by the timing of the Easter holiday compared with last year, said Joe Greff, gaming analyst with Fulcrum Global Partners, an independent Wall Street investment research firm. "Trends in May are more encouraging, based on our weekly room rate survey and conversations (with operators) in Las Vegas, and the month probably benefited from some pent-up demand," Greff said. "This appears to be the case so far in June as well."

Added Zarnett, "The bright side is that May is looking like a very strong month in Las Vegas where the deferral of American traffic has come back very strong." Thompson said, "By the end of April, the war was pretty well over as a factor in the national psyche. We did well to take just a 7 percent hit, even though the numbers are just gambling." Las Vegas has grown into a major city, and now has to expect to be affected by national events, downturns in the economy or threats of terrorism, he said. "But we're doing some things well because we're softening the hit we took from the war compared with other travel destinations," said Thompson, who praised the Las Vegas Convention and Visitor Authority's "What happens here, stays here" campaign as a strong driver for visitor volume during the period. Discounting room rates in major hotels and other promotions has also helped hold up the gambling numbers. "Look at the rest of the country, and Disneyland in particular, where tourism is down 10 percent to 20 percent," Thompson said. "They're all doing worse than we are." April highlights include: - Slot win was flat at $208 million, despite a 1.4 percent decline in slot handle. Greff said the results benefited from a slightly higher hold percentage of 6.4 percent compared with 6.2 percent in April 2002. - Table drop was down 9.1 percent to $1.2 billion (and down 22 percent compared with 2001). - High-end play volume remained weak as baccarat drop, a proxy for international high-end gambling, fell 44 percent. The baccarat win decreased 61 percent to $16 million because of a 7 percentage point reduction in hold percentage to 16 percent.

Über Glücksspiele Las Vegas - Gambling in Las Vegas:

Las Vegas liegt im Westen der USA im Bundesstaat Nevada und ist das Glücksspiel-Paradies von Amerika.

Las Vegas hat rund 100 Spielcasinos. Im Bundesstaat Nevada sind sogar über 300 Spielcasinos registriert. Die grössten Casinos sind das Bellagio, Caesars Palace, Venetian / Palazzo, Wynn / Encore, MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay.

Weitere bekannte Casinos sind das Mirage, frühere Heimat von Siegfried und Roy, das Luxor in Form einer Pyramide oder das Casino Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino, in welchem jährlich die Pokerweltmeisterschaft (World Series of Poker WSOP) durchgeführt wird.

Die bekanntesten zwei Strassen sind der Las Vegas Boulevard, welcher auch als Las Vegas Strip bezeichnet wird. Daneben ist die Fremont Street eine gut besuchte Casino-Meile, wo beispielsweise das legendäre Casino Binion's (vormals Binion's Horseshoe) seine Spiele anbietet.

Las Vegas erstreckt sich über eine Fläche von 340 km2 und hat rund 650'000 Einwohner.

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