The Las Vegas Review Journal reported the results of the Nevada Gaming Control Board as part of its Gaming Abstract Income Statement for the fiscal year that ended June 30. The abstract is a profitability measurement that combines financial information from 256 casinos. The abstract takes into account money spent on hotel rooms, dining and entertainment, in addition to gaming.
The results of the abstract showed that Nevada’s largest casinos lost $3.4 billion during fiscal year 2010, compared with the previous fiscal year net loss of almost $6.8 billion.
According to the results, the decrease, compared to fiscal year 2009, wasn’t due to a jump in revenues or spending by customers, rather the decrease is being attributed to the casino operators who wrote down the value of their assets by about $3.5 billion less than they did in the previous fiscal year.
There’s no need to panic by any means, but there is cause for concern. Gaming Control Board senior research analyst Mike Lawton said this second straight fiscal net loss was the first time since the agency began recording the abstract that casinos had lost money in two consecutive years. The last time it happened was in 2002, shortly after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
People are still making the Vegas trip, they’re just not spending more money. Downtown Las Vegas casinos reported a net loss of $73.7 million, compared to a net loss of $54 million in the prior fiscal year.
