Baccarat slays the Strip

Gaming revenues on the Las Vegas Strip continued to dip in December, down 3% ($571.5 million). Baccarat tore a hole through gaming receipts, with the house plunging 30% on 9% less wagering. Non-baccarat table games fared much better, up 7.5%. A slight increase in coin-in was enough to propel slot revenues up 6%. (Tighter holds helped.) Locals casinos saw flat slot revenue on 4% more coin-in but table game wagers were 6.5% higher, leading to 12% greater win.

Downtown fared far better, up 10% ($47 million), while Laughlin grew 11% ($31 million). The Boulder Strip ($47 million) was flat, North Las Vegas leapt 16% ($20 million) and miscellaneous Clark County ($93 million) was a percentage point higher. Lake Tahoe ($18.5 million) was also down a point but Reno ($55.5 million) was 10% up. Even the sticks were booming, with Carson Valley 10% higher ($9 million) and Elko soaring 23% to $24.5 million.

* “We know that secondhand smoke is not beneficial to your health, and at the same time, having a facility where people can smoke at a casino is beneficial for revenue,” said Tom Swoik, executive director of the Illinois Casino Gambling Association, outlining the dilemma faced by casinos. “We do know … that the more time someone spends on the casino floor, they more likely they are to keep playing. If they have to go outside to smoke, they’re more likely to light up and then leave.”

Swoik is pushing against a new study that argues that Illinois gaming houses suffered little or no economic impact from the state’s smoking ban. The National Bureau of Economic Research contends that Illinois casino admissions were in a steady decline since 2000. Never mind that, in the first quarter following the Smoke-Free Illinois Act, casino receipts in the Land of Lincoln fell 20% while Indiana went up 11% and 5.5% in Missouri. The bureau tries to palm the negative effect on the simultaneous Great Recession and on slot routes in Illinois. Color us unconvinced.

* Why are table games taxed at such a more favorable rate than slots in Pennsylvania? One reason is their volatility. Case in point: Presque Isle Downs, which saw table revenues fall 20.5% in December, thanks largely to one player who cleaned up to the tune of $200,000. Overall, luck was with the Keystone State’s tables, which were up 5.5%.