April 10--CARSON CITY -- Casino gaming revenue was up 15.1 percent in February compared to the same month last year, while the Las Vegas Strip posted a record win of $956.4 million, up 31.1 percent.

"It was the highest win ever on the Strip," said Michael Lawton, senior research analyst for the board. The board attributed the Strip record to this year's Chinese New Year celebration, which attracted many big-money gamblers.

Statewide, casinos reported revenue of $1 billion in February, according to the Nevada Gaming Control Board. Since July, the start of the fiscal year, casino revenue statewide is up 2.2 percent, and taxes collected by the state were up 2.9 percent to $495.7 million.

For February, other markets in Clark County suffered a drop in casino revenue compared to February 2012.

The board reported that revenue at downtown Las Vegas casinos dropped 7.8 percent to $41.5 million; North Las Vegas casinos were off 14.3 percent to $21 million; Laughlin dipped 1.6 percent to $42.2 million; Boulder Strip casinos fell 10.5 percent to $64 million; Mesquite fell 9.8 percent to $9.9 million; and the balance of Clark County dipped 5.4 percent to $81.4 million.

The only other major statewide market to show a February increase was South Lake Tahoe, which had a 7.8 percent increase in revenue to $16.2 million.

___

(c)2013 the Las Vegas Sun (Las Vegas, Nev.)

Visit the Las Vegas Sun (Las Vegas, Nev.) at www.lasvegassun.com

Distributed by MCT Information Services