Buoyed by heavy baccarat play, the Las Vegas Strip registered a 22.5% gain in June. The house played very lucky, too, with win up a staggering 155%. At the other end of the gaming spectrum, those slots must have been pretty tight, as casinos won 9% more on 13% less coin-in (with a day of May weekend revenue thrown in). Baccarat carried the rest of the table games, which were 2% down despite 6% higher drop. Strip gaming revenues are up over 3% for the year so far. June’s numbers shot past Deutsche Bank analyst Carlo Santarelli‘s projections for the Strip, which were ‘only’ a 10% gain.
It was mostly good news elsewhere. Downtown Las Vegas was up 12% and North Las Vegas 23%. The Boulder Strip gained 17% and outlying Clark County casinos rose 3%. Non-Vegas resort destinations suffered slightly, with Laughlin down 3.5%, and Reno and Lake Tahoe both down 2%.
* Overall, Louisiana was flat as a pancake last month. That top-line number (up half a percentage point) conceals some wild swings and 
roundabouts. Only New Orleans, up 1%, could be called ‘stable’ and most of that was Harrah’s New Orleans (+10%, $30 million gross) carrying the competition. Pinnacle Entertainment‘s Boomtown New Orleans was -15%, Boyd Gaming‘s Treasure Chest was -7% and Churchill Downs‘ Fair Grounds racino was -3%.
Pinnacle’s L’Auberge du Lac Baton Rouge was flat, while competitors Hollywood Casino Baton Rouge (-17%) and Belle of Baton Rouge
(+1.5%) had mixed results. But L’Auberge grossed more than both other casinos combined. It was the same story in Lake Charles, where 
L’Auberge du Lac (+21%, $32.5 million) dwarfed both Isle Grand Palais (-5%, $11 million) and Boyd’s Delta Downs (flat, $16 million). Boyd’s outlying Amelia Belle and Evangeline Downs were down, 7% and 3% respectively.
In the Shreveport-Bossier City market, newish Margaritaville (+25%) continues to gobble up market share from its competitors. Pinnacle’s Boomtown Bossier was down 21%, Sam’s Town Shreveport was -16% and Diamond Jacks was -25%. Caesars Entertainment had mixed results with a 6% at Horseshoe Bossier City but a 22% dropoff at Louisiana Downs. El Dorado Shreveport (-4%) rounded out the market.
* Atlantic City‘s troubles have grown to the point where the national media are taking serious notice. But if it looks bleak for casino operators, it’s worse for the small businesses that feed off the foot traffic the casinos bring … or used to.
I expected high Strip baccarat play in May due to the Maywether fight but not even higher play in June. This could mean that ever-more Chinese high-rollers are really starting to come to Vegas on a regular basis and not just for Chinese New Year and other special events.