On the
Strip, Drinking Not Free For All
If you're looking for a complimentary
cocktail in a casino, forget the Strip. Your
best best is in the tiny northern Nevada town
of West Wendover.
Casinos
in West Wendover, which sits off Interstate
80 on the edge of the Nevada-Utah border, report
that 82 percent of the $10.3 million in liquor
they served was comped.
In
contrast, the 42 casinos on the Strip served
$701.1 million worth of liquor but only 36 percent
of that was poured with compliments of the house.
The
state Gaming Control Board's abstract for 2005
shows that statewide casino liquor sales (complimentary
drinks are included in that amount) reached
$1.1 billion, or 5 percent of the total $23.1
billion in gross revenue reported last fiscal
year. Gaming accounted for 49.9 percent of the
total revenue collected by the casinos.
The
report shows that casinos in most of the state
gave away more booze than they charged for.
Frank
Streshley, senior research analyst for the board,
said the reason the Strip casinos collect more
for alcohol than they give away is due to the
cocktail lounges where people sit and are charged
for beverages.
The
Strip casinos still provide complimentary cocktails
to those playing at slot machines or gaming
tables. But in the high-end nightclubs in Strip
casinos, where drinks are typically a minimum
of $5 and the price for a bottle of alcohol
can run into the hundreds, or even thousands,
of dollars, the customer pays.
In
addition, Streshley said the showrooms that
feature stage productions are now run by companies
rather than the casinos. And customers are charged
for drinks there.
Bill
Bible, director of the Nevada Gaming Resort
Association, which includes many of the Strip
clubs, said he has not examined the figures
but speculated it could be for a variety of
reasons. He said there may be so many attractions
on the Strip that the casinos don't need the
enticement of free liquor.
He
said there are shops, rooms, shows and restaurants
that attract tourists. The state report shows
that casinos along the Strip get only 40.9 percent
of their revenue from gaming, with 26.1 percent
coming from rooms, 14.1 percent from food, 5.4
percent from drinks and 13.5 percent from other
businesses.
Other
locations that don't have as many attractions
may have to use free drinks as a way to attract
and keep customers. For instance, many casinos
hand out free drinks for a person cashing a
payroll check.
In
Washoe County, the 37 major casinos reported
$113.9 million worth of alcohol sold, with 58.5
percent of that in comps.
Even
in other parts of Clark County, the casinos
give away more than they sell. The 17 casinos
in downtown Las Vegas reported $60.7 million
in beverage sales -- 56.1 percent of it comped.
The
gaming report said 70 percent of the $48.1 million
worth of drinks served in Laughlin casinos was
given away; 62 percent of the $52 million in
alcohol on the Boulder Strip was complimentary;
and 68 percent of the $109.2 million in drinks
served in the rest of Clark County was free.
The
only other place outside the Strip where casinos
sold more liquor than they gave away was in
the south Lake Tahoe area. There were $40.4
million in sales, with 50.8 percent of them
paid for.
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