LAS VEGAS-Gambling revenue in October increased by less than one half of 1% from October 2005, the state Gaming Control Board reported this week. The stagnant growth is reportedly due in part to gamblers' good luck at the baccarat tables.

Casinos in the state reported an October gaming win of $1.063 billion, up from $1.059 billion in October 2005. Fiscal 2007 year-to-date gaming revenues (July 1 to –Oct. 31) are running 3.3% ahead of fiscal 2006 but are 6.2% below some forecasts.

Slightly more than half of the state's gaming revenues are generated by casinos on the Las Vegas Strip, which saw gaming revenues decline more than 5% in October to $532.19 million. For the fiscal 2007 year-to-date, gaming revenue from the Strip remains about 3% ahead of fiscal 2006. In Downtown Las Vegas, gaming revenues were off by 1.67% to $59.69 million in October and are off by more than 7% for the fiscal year-to-date.

The only double-digit growth in gaming revenues occurred in other parts of Clark County, including North Las Vegas (12.43%), the Boulder Strip (13.56%) and Mesquite (19.99%). In Washoe County, which includes Reno, Sparks and North Lake Tahoe, gaming revenues were down across the board. On a fiscal year-to-date basis, only Sparks remains ahead of the previous year.

October visitor counts are expected in the next week or so from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Bureau. In September, visitor volume was 3.28 million, up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Year-to-date, visitor volume stands at 29.35 million, up 0.9% from the same period one year earlier.