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August 20, 2012

Strip and Nevada Statewide Casino Win Falls in June

Filed under: Casino — Tags: , — OCE News @ 1:55 am

The gambling win in both the Las Vegas strip, as well as statewide throughout Nevada, Ella total of 4.5% throughout June. Statewide,it was a total of a 6% drop off overall. This was compared to the same month, one year ago.this comes directly after a total of 18.1% drop on the Las Vegas strip throughout May.

For the fiscal year, which ended for the Las Vegas strip on June 30, the total win for the strip was flat, with a total jump of less than 0.6% overall. Most casinos to route the state, it posted lower winnings, throughout all of Clark County. In northern Las Vegas, in the Laughlin area, winnings were down by more than 20% for the month.

By all accounts, the quarter could have gone much better for all casinos, and there were very few bright spots to be happy about overall. The one bright spot, was to strip roulette winnings, which were a total of 33%. Sports betting also did well, and saw a large increase, but was not enough to turn the situation around as a whole. Blackjack fell more than 4.8% overall, with craps tumbling more than 21% and total gambling win.

Throughout the state, the gambling win for the fiscal year was 10.7 billion, which was up more than half of a percentage point. Although this gain is not a lot, any positive improvement is definitely something that the casinos are going to be happy about, since they have endured such a hard last few years. In all, the winnings from the casinos generated more than $38.2 million in tax revenue based on the June businesses, which was more than a 25% decline over the previous year. It is clear that dips in earnings as deep as this, not only negatively affect the casinos, but are going to drastically impact the tax revenue for the state as well.

August 18, 2012

Stratosphere 2nd Quarter Business Unimpressive

Filed under: Casino — Tags: — OCE News @ 1:53 am

The Stratosphere has reported a flat second quarter of business. The owner of the stratosphere released a statement in Las Vegas, on Thursday, stating that they had had a completely flat second quarter of business. The property, owned by the American Casino & Entertain Properties LLC, which owns two local casinos in the area as well, reported losses of $2.8 million during the second quarter of June, which ended for the company on June 30. That was the same amount of losses that the company took in the second quarter of 2001, resulting in the flat analysis of the situation. Revenue was up by a total of $100,000 to a total of $87.7 million for the company. The company also saw some key performance metrics fall as well.

These metrics included the EBITDA, a performance metric that is used to measure the effectiveness of casinos. This number fell from $18.2 million to a total of $16.1 million. This is a result of an increase in expenses. The EBITDA takes earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and other factors into account when it is ranking the casinos. The hotel also saw their occupancy stayed flat at a 91.7% occupancy mark. This was the same number that the company saw in the second quarter of 2001, as well as in 2002, which goes to show the kind of longevity that the Stratosphere has. They also saw revenue from their tower rides, and attractions while a total of 5.1% when both quarters are compared.

The company cited a weakness in consumer sentiment, followed by a decrease in spending, as one of the main reasons why the company has seen dips over the course of recent months.

Despite these poor showings, the casino did manage to boost their revenue and number of different areas. One area, saw boost of 0.5% revenue to a total of $40.1 million in net revenue, as well as a 4.1% increase in hotel revenue. However, the casino still watches on as its gaming profit and revenue fall sharply.

August 16, 2012

Bally Technologies, Gaming Supply Company, Posts Record Profits

Filed under: Casino — Tags: , — OCE News @ 1:49 am

Bally Technologies Inc., a gaming supply company that is responsible for supplying gaming technology to several large Las Vegas casinos, has reported record sales following the release of a couple of very popular slot machines. The newest slot machines,which were able to break the record sales, included designs from the movie Grease, as well as Michael Jackson.

The company also stated that their revenue, for the fiscal year,which ended on June 30, showed a 15% increase over the previous year’s totals. They were able to put together a total profit of more than $26.5 million, which equated to $.61 per share for their shareholders. The previous year, in the fourth quarter, they had been able to put a $25.5 million, or a total of $.51 profit per share.

The designs that they have released have been quite popular, which has helped to drive the sales all over the Nevada area. Both the Michael Jackson, as well as the Grease designs did well, with the Jackson design selling a bit more. Both machines helped the company to boost sales of recent slot machines.

The shares of Bally Technologies Inc., were also boosted by the opening of a number of new casinos around the world, several of which purchase many of their machines from Bally Technologies.

They were able to sell more than 5000 units in total, generating a total of $96.8 million in profit during their fourth quarter, both from previously sold machines as well as new machine sales. This was a jump of more than 1500 units in total from the previous year, as well as $24 million in profit. The company is also exploring avenues to get into online gaming, and provide technologies for online gambling companies, as the likelihood of online gaming being opened to the public once againappears to be more real.

August 14, 2012

Las Vegas Gamblers Win Attention Drawing Seizure Case

Filed under: Casino — Tags: , — OCE News @ 1:47 am

With this being the second time, a federal appeals court has ruled that a pair of professional gamblers can sue a narcotics officer that seized $97,000 in cash, when he suspected that the pair had been taking part in drug trafficking. The case came before a panel in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday, and the decision came down that the pair, Gina Fiore and Keith Gibson had the right to sue Anthony Walden, the DEA agent who confiscated the cash.

The decision was 2 to 1, and now the suit will be heading back to the District Court in Las Vegas. It is expected that both the gamblers will continue with their claim, and make an attempt to retrieve the funds that were taken from them. Walden, visibily upset with the decision, argued that since he had no property in the Nevada area, that the Nevada court should have no jurisdiction over this case, in an attempt to have the case stay on the federal level.

He asked that the full circuit court hear the case, but was rejected at the time. Despite this fact, the suit was allowed to continue, and both gamblers are likely going to be pursuing the money that was confiscated from them illegally. They had been returning from gambling in the casinos in Puerto Rico, when they were stopped by a number of federal agents in the airport, and were asked questions about possible drug and gun connections. The couple explained to the officers that there $30,000 that they originally had was their original gambling money, and the amount that they came back with was their winnings from the trip.

It was at that time that a narcotics dog started scratching at the back of Gibson, and the agency seized the money on grounds that it may have been used in several narcotics dealings in Puerto Rico. The couple had no money on them at this point, not even enough for a taxi in Las Vegas. Once the couple had arrived in Las Vegas once again, they were able to send the federal agents tax returns that show that they were indeed professional gamblers, including records of some of their trips, and receipts from their payouts and purchases. The money was not immediately returned at the time, and the federal agents maintain that they believe that the affidavit that they received in order to return the money, had been forged. As a result, the money was never returned, and since that time, the couple has been attempting to put together a case.

July 18, 2012

Gaming Revenues In Nevada Bounce Back In April

Filed under: Casino — Tags: , , — OCE News @ 12:02 am

The revenues accrued from gaming in the state of Nevada have rebounded from the dismal results of March. There has been an overall gain of 6.2 percent for the state as a whole, when compared to the figures of April 2011. Last year, the total win was recorded at $855 million. Big gains have been recorded for Clark County, Washoe County, South Lake Tahoe, and Elko County. The double digit fall in gaming revenues for the month of March 2012 has been more of an anomaly. The state has been recording gambling gains in nearly six out of the last seven months.

What can these gains be attributed to? Some of the gains were definitely of a technical nature. Some part of the revenue for March was carried forward to April, as the month of March ended on a Saturday. The reopening of the Plaza Hotel and Casino in downtown Las Vegas was responsible for a part of this gain.

April 2012 witnessed gains in all the Clark County markets. The gains in downtown Las Vegas went up 25 percent. North Las Vegas reported a gain of 42 percent, as compared to the previous year.

The statewide gaming win for the fiscal year starting July 1, 2011 to April 30, 2012, reported an increase of 2.5 percent. The signs are quite evident. The online gaming sector is showing signs of gradual recovery, as Las Vegas is moving out of the effects of the chronic recession that hit the US economy.

One trend that does not fit in the other positives in the industry is a slight drop in the number of visitors to Las Vegas for the month of April. This dip in the number is the first in the last two years. The decrease in numbers, however, has been more than offset by significant gains in slots and improvement in revenues for table games. More and more people from the Asian market are showing their preferences for baccarat, and this card game is becoming increasingly important to casinos catering to the Asian game lovers.

Nevada, as a state, is also inching along to make online poker legal, which would also have an impact on the revenues from gaming for the state. The casino companies in Nevada are ready for intra-state online poker, though are being pulled back due to the lack of a federal measure.

Only recently, Bally Technologies became the first company to get a recommendation from the Gaming Control Board of Nevada for issuing the very first interactive gaming license. The recommendation would be passed onto the Gaming Commission for final approval, followed by a final phase of technology inspection. Many other businesses are also interested in participating in online poker, if it becomes legal.

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