Largest Nevada Casinos Lose $3.4B During Fiscal 2010
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LAS VEGAS — Nevada's largest casinos lost $3.4 billion during the fiscal year that ended June 30, cutting costs by nearly $4.5 billion to help narrow losses from an even worse stretch in late 2008 and early 2009, state gambling regulators said Monday.
During the year that ended June 30, 2009, the largest casinos in the Silver State lost nearly $6.8 billion.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board said in its Gaming Abstract on Monday that the 256 casinos that grossed at least $1 million in gambling revenue combined for nearly $21 billion in total revenue, including money earned from hotel rooms, restaurants, bars and other sources. That was down more than 5 percent compared with just over $22 billion taken in by 260 large casinos in fiscal 2009, regulators said.
The report said 76.2 percent of the total gambling revenue came from 68 casinos owned by publicly-traded companies.
The casinos paid $777.6 million in taxes – 7.8 percent of their gambling revenue, the report said. Gambling revenue made up nearly $10 billion, 47.5 percent of casinos' total revenue.
Most of the cost cuts – nearly $4 billion – came from general and administrative expenses, which were 25.8 percent less in fiscal 2010 than in fiscal 2009. Casino, food and other expenses were also down, while room and bar expenses rose.
The largest 148 casinos in Clark County, Nevada's most populous county which includes Las Vegas, lost $3.36 billion and generated $18.2 billion in total revenue, the report said. On the Las Vegas Strip, casinos lost $2.57 billion on revenue of $13.3 billion.
In Washoe County, which includes Reno, 31 casinos combined to lose $27.5 million on revenue of $1.5 billion.
Only large casinos in Elko County, Laughlin – a Colorado River resort town 100 miles south of Las Vegas near the Arizona border – and other places not classified by region showed profits.
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OSKAR GARCIA 01/31/11 02:14 PM ET Associated Press