Dec. 12--The massive worldwide travel drop-off that followed the Sept. 11 terror attacks and the recession that preceded them saw Nevada casinos win 5.12 percent less from gamblers in October than in October 2000, according to figures released Tuesday afternoon by the state Gaming Control Board. 

The state's 350 largest casinos saw their haul fall $41.5 million to $769.7 million. 

The decline was at its worst along the Strip, where 42 casinos sustained a 10.6 percent decline in their take to $358.2 million. 

Gov. Kenny Guinn authorized the numbers' release one day after his top aides said the results would be withheld for several days to give state officials time to gauge the health of Nevada's economy. 

He relented after critics questioned the wisdom of withholding numbers that for 18 years have been typically released on the 10th or 11th day of every month. 

"In tough times it's much more important to lay them out in a very methodical way," Guinn said of the monthly results. "The policy and what you want to pass on to the people is very important. It has to be more comprehensive and deliberate." 

The figures detail the amount of money won in October on all games at the state's casinos as well as the amount of money the state expects to receive from gaming taxes. The month's casino tax haul was down $3.9 million to $44.4 million. 

Nearly a third of Nevada's current $1.8 billion annual state budget is slated to come from the 6.25 percent tax on casino win. 

Another third is budgeted to come from the state's monthly sales tax revenues. Those results could be released as early as next week, although Guinn said he had wanted to release them with the casino report to provide a more comprehensive economic picture. 

"If we're looking at what it means to us for people in state government, programs, educational funding, they're concerned about how it affects our budget," Guinn said. "The (casino) figure relates to people in the gaming area, stockholders, management, workers in the casinos." 

UBS Warburg financial analyst Robin Farley said some of the 18 analysts who routinely monitor the casino industry had expected a statewide revenue decline of nearly 10 percent in October. 

"Discounted hotel room rates are keeping traffic in town," Farley said. "That's where they sacrificed to get traffic back to Vegas." 

According to the October numbers: 

-- Baccarat win was down 28.1 percent to $24.2 million at Strip casinos, where Asian high rollers usually play the game. 

That sparked a 19 percent drop in card and table games revenue along the Strip. 

Executives at the city's largest megaresorts have said that high-end wagering has disappeared in the aftermath of the terror attacks as travel-wary Asians have stayed closer to home. 

-- Slot win was down 3.1 percent at Strip casinos, but nickel slot play was up 20.7 percent for the month. 

The wagering on multi-coin nickel games may have reflected the millions of dollars gambled by budget-conscious travelers who have driven here on weekends to take advantage of lower hotel room rates. 

-- Results in the locals gambling markets of North Las Vegas, up 6.6 percent, and Boulder Strip, up 5.3 percent, surprised control board statistical analyst Frank Streshley who believed that Las Vegas economic troubles would have cut into business in the two markets. 

The 12,000 to 15,000 Las Vegas casino workers who have lost their jobs since Sept. 11 and the thousands more who are working reduced schedules generate much of the business in the markets' 38 casinos. 

-- Downtown Las Vegas casinos experienced a 2.6 percent decline in win, and Laughlin casinos were down 4.3 percent, while Mesquite's casinos generated a 1.8 percent increase. 

Wall Street analysts have speculated in recent weeks that sizable price cutting of Strip hotel rooms rates has led price-sensitive tourists, who would normally stay at downtown hotels, to pay a bit more money to stay along the Strip. 

UBS Warburg's Farley noted that the stock prices of many of the largest Las Vegas gaming companies have returned from their post-Sept. 11 lows. But she argued that the troubling low-travel dynamic that has plagued Las Vegas remains. 

"The stocks are acting like they are back to normal and, in fact, the fundamentals are worse today than they were before 9-11," she said, arguing that guests staying in Las Vegas hotel rooms continue to spend less money than they did before the terror attacks. 

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(c) 2001, Las Vegas Review-Journal. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.