Nevada casinos end fiscal year on up note

Nevada casinos closed out their fiscal year in fine fashion as baccarat gave a boost to June’s gaming revenue total.

Figures released Friday by the Nevada Gaming Control Board show statewide gaming revenue of $887.4m in June, a 6.8% gain from the same month last year. Las Vegas Strip casinos performed even better, rising 9.7% to $489m.

June’s gains were enough to push the 2016 fiscal year revenue total to $11.1b, up around 1% from fiscal 2015, which was itself down 1.5% from fiscal 2014’s total. However, the state still has a long way to go to surpass its all-time peak of $12.5b in 2007.

June’s gains were aided by a nearly one-third rise in baccarat revenue, although it wasn’t enough to unseat blackjack as the month’s top table earner, underscoring exactly how puny June 2015’s baccarat revenue had been. Blackjack revenue rose 2.5% to $83.4m while baccarat came in just under $77m.