$932.2 million gaming revenue in Nevada

GAMBLING revenue increased by 5.7% in February in Nevada. It leaves the gambling strip rolling around in a grand figure of $932.2 million for the month. It reflects that Nevada is once again winning, the first winning streak in six years.

Barry Lehrer owns the Fifth Avenue Pub at Charleston and Las Vegas Boulevards and says his bottom line is up at least 20 percent.

“People were afraid to gamble — they were losing their houses. A lot less people are losing their houses and so they have extra money, and when you have extra money, you’re either a drinker, a womanizer, or a gambler,” he said.

The main revenue builder is said to be slots, simply because the payout is better. Although in February, casinos made 10 percent more on slots than the year before. The biggest improvements came from the Las Vegas Strip, as well as the the Boulder Strip reporting a 23 percent jump in revenue from February 2011 to 2012. But some of the managers at local casinos said the numbers are skewed because the Gaming Control Board includes the M Resort, Sunset Station, and Green Valley Ranch in their analysis of the gaming area.

The general manager of the Skyline and Longhorn Casinos say they’re up and down every month by around five percent. Local’s casino revenue is up 12 percent, mainly due to slots. Either more people are playing, or more of the players are losing.

“Considering the weaker convention calendar in the first quarter of the year, this is solid progress thus far,” said Brent Pirosch, director of Gaming Consulting Services for the Global Gaming Group at CB Richard Ellis in Las Vegas.

“In terms of large conventions (30,000 plus attendees), there were approximately 631,000 attendees in the first quarter of 2011, while this year had 522,000,” Pirosch said. “The difference is largely attributable to the loss of the ConAg show because of its rotational schedule.”

Surprisingly, where some of the big casinos here made money was on table games. Craps saw a huge increase year over year, and that was a big boost to the overall numbers.