December Nevada Revenues Look Good
Although gaming revenues increased by nearly 6 percent over the previous December, analysts are not sure whether this signals an upturn
Nevada gaming revenues were 5.8 percent in December over the same month one year previously. The increase was partially due to the fact that December included an extra weekend this past year.
According to figures released by the Nevada Gaming Control Board, the casino "hold" - the amount of money casinos keep after all bets are paid off - totaled US$794.1 million in December, compared with US$750.6 million a year before.
December gaming revenues for the Las Vegas Strip totaled $428.6 million, up 9.1 percent. Downtown Las Vegas, Laughlin and Reno all enjoyed an increase too. However, North Las Vegas and the Boulder Strip both declined.
Analysts were not convinced whether the overall increase in December 2000 represented a reversal of several months of less positive numbers. UBS Warburg analyst Robin Farley noted that excluding highly volatile baccarat figures, Nevada casino revenues were down in September, October, and November. She credited the extra weekend with bringing in revenue in December, as well as the effect of Y2K concerns that limited travel in December 1999. Farley does not believe that the slowing trend is changing.
Joyce Minor, an analyst at Lehman Bros., said the December gain was positive news but nothing spectacular. “Overall, the results looked OK, if not fantastic,” she stated. “But these results were already captured in the fourth-quarter results already reported by most companies. What will be more interesting will be the January results.”
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