Two Economic Indicators Test Positive For Quarter

First, The Gaming Picture

The Gaming Control Board has released the figures for March of this year, and it appears the gaming industry has topped itself in the amount of money scooped off the tables and jingled into the slots. There are 349 casinos operating in the Silver State, and for March, they took in $930.3 million. For the First Quarter the win has been a very healthy $2.7 billion, some 10.4 percent above last year.

Statewide, the win in March was a hefty 11.5 percent above the March 2003 figure. Overall, Clark County led the state, showing a 13.3 percent increase, led by the strip at a plus 17.7 percent, North Las Vegas at a positive 13.4 percent, and Boulder City with an increase of 17.3 percent. In the south, the big downer was downtown Las Vegas which came in 11 percent below last March.

Washoe County posted a measly 0.4 percent increase. The city of Reno showed an increase of 1.1 percent, sparks was down 0.5 percent while North Lake Tahoe came in at a positive 1.9 percent.

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Taxable Sales Figures Jump

Business in the state of Nevada has been very good if figures from the Taxation Department are any indication. Very good indeed. Overall, the taxable goods sold in Nevada during February hit $2.87 billion, up 13.4 percent from last year. That put $495.1 million in the treasury.

Part of the increase has to come from the new taxes that were approved by the last legislature, including new taxes on booze, cigarettes, and business. According to the taxation folk, the state has received more than $50 million from the business payroll tax, about $26 million in real estate taxes, and some $87 million from the liquor and tobacco tax. The legislature had passed a tax increase that totaled some $833 million

The state had predicted a 5.1 percent increase in sales tax, and the figure is actually 11.9. The sales tax money represents about one third of the amount the state collects overall. The other two thirds comes from gaming, mining, agriculture, and transportation.

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All Not Good At SPPCo

The first quarter of the fiscal year at Sierra Pacific Resources has not ended in a manner share holders are going to appreciate. The parent company of Sierra Pacific Power Co. in Reno, and Nevada Power co. in Las Vegas announced a net loss of $44.5 million for the period January-March, 2004.

A loss of this magnitude, 38 cents per share, could possibly amount to another round of proposed rate increases for the companies that provide most of the electrical power in the Silver State. The company has said that during 2003, the company wide loss was $140.5 million.

During that same period, Company CEO Walt Higgins received an 8.5 percent pay raise, a bonus of $326,000, other compensation in excess of a half million dollars, and stock awards of $838,000.