Casino winnings bounce back

      CARSON CITY -- Despite floods in Reno and good luck by bettors, Nevada casinos in January rebounded from a recent slump and posted their biggest single-month increase since last July.
      The Gaming Control Board reported Tuesday that casinos won $646.7 million from players in January, up 4.5 percent from their $619.1 million in winnings in January 1996.
      Russell Guindon, fiscal analyst for the board, attributed the increase to the Jan. 3 opening of New York-New York.
      The increase was particularly impressive, he said, because baccarat winnings during the month fell 37 percent and sports book winnings were off 58.4 percent.
      If winnings in those areas had equalled their January 1996 performance, Guindon said, the gaming industry would have reported an overall increase of more than 10 percent.
      The 4.5 percent increase breaks a five-month stretch during which gaming winnings either declined or were flat compared with the same months the previous year.
      January began with a flood that closed streets in downtown Reno and shut down U.S. Highway 50, the main road to South Lake Tahoe's casinos.
      Consequently, Washoe County casinos reported their winnings fell to $60.8 million, down 9.8 percent. South Lake Tahoe winnings were just $19.7 million, a 17.1 percent decline.
      Perhaps more impressive than the rebound in gaming winnings was the 13.4 percent increase in gaming taxes collected by state government.
      Gaming taxes made up about 37 percent of the state general fund budget. Through the first eight months of the fiscal year, the state had taken in $281.5 million in gaming taxes, down slightly from $287.5 million received over the same period a year ago.
      It was just last week that state Budget Director Perry Comeaux said the Legislature might have to reduce its planned construction program because of the tax downfall.
      "I feel a lot better now than last month," Comeaux said.
      Assembly Majority Leader Richard Perkins, D-Henderson, and Assembly Taxation Chairman Bob Price, D-North Las Vegas, both expressed confidence that revenues will continue to rise.
      "I'm inclined to believe it will continue to boom," Price said. "They (casinos) are doing everything they can to bring people in and make it miserable to drive on freeways."
      "A few (bad) months don't make a trend," Perkins added. "It is encouraging to see the state's No. 1 industry recovering."
      The Economic Forum, a group of private business leaders, next month will check tax figures and project how much money will be available for state spending in 1997-99. State laws require the Legislature and Gov. Bob Miller to use the forum's figures in creating the state budget.
      While the opening of New York-New York helped the Strip attain a 6 percent revenue increase in January, the biggest percentage increase was recorded in outlying Clark County areas including Mesquite and Primm.
      Casinos in these areas won $50.6 million, up 20.2 percent from a year ago.
      A report compiled by Guindon last month showed total baccarat wagering declined last year. January continued that trend with baccarat betting down $20 million.
      Casinos achieved an 11.2 winning percentage at baccarat in January, down from 16.6 percent in January 1996.
      Sports books winnings declined partly because the Super Bowl ended in a 14-point victory by Green Bay. Many books had to return money to players because they made Green Bay a 14-point favorite.
      Guindon said books won $2.3 million on the Super Bowl, but that was a major fall from their $7.1 million in winnings in 1996.