Nevada casino winnings up 11.5 percent in August to $62 million; Vegas Strip up 21 percent

Nevada casino winnings up 11.5 percent in August

LAS VEGAS — Casinos in Nevada won more than $944 million from gamblers in August, an increase of 11.5 percent compared with the same month one year ago, state gambling regulators said Friday.

The Nevada Gaming Control Board said the state collected $61.8 million in taxes based on those revenues. That figure is up 24.4 percent compared with the same period in 2009, when the state collected $49.6 million.

A breakdown showed winnings up 21 percent on the Las Vegas Strip to $544.4 million. The Strip improved more than all other areas in the state.

Downtown Las Vegas was down 1.4 percent to $41.4 million.

Casino revenues are important in Nevada because the taxes on them make up about one-third of the state’s general fund. Tourism and gambling have been crushed during the recession and slow to recover in a state that leads the country in foreclosures, unemployment and bankruptcies.

Most jurisdictions outside Clark County did not improve compared with last year.

In northern Nevada’s Washoe County, which includes Reno and Sparks, casinos reported winning $71.6 million, down 3.1 percent.

In South Lake Tahoe, a market that has seen its share reduced by American Indian casinos in northern California, winnings were up 7.2 percent to $23.5 million.

Elsewhere, casino winnings fell 1.9 percent in Elko County and rose 7.7 percent in the Carson Valley region.