Thursday, May 12, 2005
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
GAMING MILESTONE: Casinos' win tops $1 billion
Industry enjoys 'absolute blockbuster' March results
By HOWARD STUTZ
GAMING WIRE
Most experts watching the ebbs and flows of Nevada's gaming industry believed that the state's casinos would record their first monthly gaming win of $1 billion sometime this year. But they didn't expect it to happen in March.
"We were thinking May, once we had a full month of operations out of Wynn Las Vegas," said Frank Streshley, senior research analyst for the State Gaming Control Board. "Everything was just going strong in March."
Nevada's casino industry shattered all previous monthly win totals during the third month of 2005, collecting $1.031 billion from gamblers during the 31-day period.
The win total, announced Wednesday by gaming regulators, surpassed the previous record of $930.3 million in March 2004. The figure was a 10.9 percent year-over-year increase.
The 341 casinos taking part in the summary reported a collective total drop -- the actual amount wagered by gamblers -- of $13.4 billion.
"March was absolutely off the charts when you looked at the quarterly earnings reports for the major casino operators," said Brian Gordon, a partner in Applied Analysis, a Las Vegas-based financial consulting company.
"There had been concerns early in the quarter because of weather and other issues, but March proved to be an absolute blockbuster for the industry."
To put the figure into historical perspective, in 1974 Nevada casinos as a whole won $1.004 billion, the first time the industry collected more than $1 billion from gamblers in a 12-month period.
"Surpassing $1 billion in win for the month is another solid indictor that our state's economy is doing exceptionally well," Gov. Kenny Guinn said in a prepared statement.
Deutsche Bank gaming analyst Marc Falcone said that strong convention attendance during March, including 135,000 delegates who took part in the ConExpo-ConAgg trade show early in March, and increased visitation in conjunction with the first weekend of the National Collegiate Athletic Association basketball tournament helped add to the win total.
The surge was felt statewide except in one area, Reno. Casinos in that Northern Nevada city collectively had a win decrease of 1.56 percent in the month.
In Clark County, six of the seven jurisdictions, according to the control board's breakdown, reported all-time win records.
On the whole, Clark County's gaming win was almost $865 million, an 11.42 percent increase over the $776.3 million won a year ago. Casinos on the Strip for the first time won more than $500 million from gamblers in a month, collecting $514.4 million, a 10.5 percent increase compared with $465.4 million last March.
Although casinos in downtown Las Vegas didn't have a record month, the gambling houses along Fremont Street won $63.1 million in March, an 11.4 percent jump compared with $56.7 million won a year ago.
Casinos in North Las Vegas won $28.2 million, a 12.6 percent year-over-year increase; the Boulder Strip (including Henderson) won $85.1 million, a 12.4 percent rise; and the balance of Clark County (which includes areas outside the Strip) collected $98.7 million, a 15.2 percent jump.
"We look at three different indicators: convention visitors, leisure travelers and local customers," Streshley said.
"All three areas were strong, so it wasn't just one area that gave casinos a bump, it was industrywide."
Speculation had been that the April 28 opening of the $2.7 billion Wynn Las Vegas, which added 2,716 rooms to the Strip market, would boost the gaming win substantially, especially by the end of May after the resort's first full month of operation.
Barring a hiccup in the economy or an incident that could curtail travel to the United States from foreign markets, Streshley said he expects the $1 billion monthly win figure to become commonplace.
"It should continue. Wynn added more rooms, and we'll see the new tower at Caesars Palace open during the summer," Streshley said.
"Enough is happening to continue to drive visitor traffic."
Falcone agreed that Nevada casinos will continue to reap the benefits of a vibrant tourism market.
"We expect the momentum (has) continued into the second quarter," Falcone said in an investors' note.
"We believe this bodes well for operators with Las Vegas exposure, including MGM Mirage, Harrah's, Wynn Resorts and Caesars, as well as local operators Station Casinos and Boyd Gaming."
Slot machine win statewide of $719.6 million on $11.3 billion wagered was an all-time record, Streshley said, adding that March is traditionally a strong month for slot machine play.
Streshley said betting on basketball in March, which includes both the NCAA and the National Basketball Association, gave the casinos a win of $16.2 million on $170.9 million wagered, a 16.7 percent year-over-year increase.
He added that first-round NCAA Tournament losses by such favorites as Syracuse and Kansas helped the casinos.
Micah Roberts, director of race and sports for Station Casinos, said the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament steadily has grown into one of the busiest wagering weekends in Las Vegas. He said customers don't bet on basketball alone.
"It's a party atmosphere, and people come to watch the games and have a good time," Roberts said.
"Sports bettors also like to play blackjack, poker and slots. The numbers (amount wagered on the NCAA Tournament) were a little higher than in the past, and I attribute that to the electricity the tournament brings."
