Clark County, home of Las Vegas and environs, took in 84% of thestate's July 2007 total, or $964.7 million, a 13% increase fromlast year. Casinos along the Las Vegas Strip accounted forapproximately 63% of the county's total, or $606.8 million, a14.13% increase from July 2006.

Even Downtown Las Vegas, which has been flat or declining for adecade, joined the fun, raking in $53.7 million in July, a 9.58%increase from the same month last year and its third positiveperformance in the past four months. The July 2007 total was thehighest July total since 2004, when it was $54.5 million.

Gaming Control Board senior analyst Frank Streshley tellsGlobeSt.com that reasons for the increase could include a recentlycompleted refurbishment of the Golden Nugget property Downtown, aramped up marketing effort and new condo developments increasingthe daily population in the area. "Annual [gaming] revenue [fromDowntown] is still below where it was 10 years ago, but it'strending in a positive direction," he says.