Gaming abstracts reveal major changes at Stateline over 30 years

As recently as 1992, the equivalent of a third of Douglas County’s population worked for the Stateline casinos.

According to the 1991-92 Nevada Gaming Abstract, the casinos employed an average of 9,184 people and brought in $548.8 million in revenue, with gaming alone accounting for $350.5 million.

The 1990 Census reported that there were 27,637 people living in the county, and even with reports of rapid population growth, a year later it was still less than 30,000 according to state figures.

In the most recent Abstract released in December, the casinos listed a $78.1 million loss in 2021-22, with total revenues of $360.6 million.

The casinos reported employing an average of 2,108 workers during the fiscal year, which is around 4 percent of the county’s 49,488 population and only about a tenth of its total workforce. There were more people working in just food service at the casinos in 1992 than the total Stateline casino workforce listed for last year.

The abstract covers the fiscal year from July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2022, and shows the Stateline casinos were the only ones in the state to post a net loss.

According to the abstract, gaming accounted for $178.8 million, or 49.6 percent of the casinos’ revenue during the year. During the previous year, gaming raised $204 million, or 56.7 percent.

Rooms brought in $84.1 million compared to 2020-21 when rooms accounted for 21.6 percent or $78.1 million.

So far, the first half of the 2022-23 fiscal year has shown a significant improvement for the casinos at Stateline.

According to gaming figures released on Jan. 31, the last six months of 2022 saw a 25.29 percent increase in the Stateline casinos gaming win to $143.2 million despite a soft December.

It was the first time the win for the main source of Douglas County gaming revenue cracked $140 million over the six months since the Great Recession, when the last half of 2008 saw the beginning of a long slide from $155.9 million down to $110.1 million just two years later.

While not as steep a climb out of the hole that was the last six months of 2021, the gaming win was up nearly $30 million from 2021’s $114.3 million, according to the Nevada Gaming Control Board.

Property tax for casinos is typically based on their revenue in Nevada. Operators can opt to have the resorts assessed on the value of the structures, but that happens rarely.