With a month remaining in the fiscal year, local revenue from Vicksburg casinos has exceeded that of last year, thanks to a surge after Hurricane Katrina and a fast leveling-off as Gulf Coast casinos reopened.

The increases here contrast with statewide figures for August that show a drop over July.

Mississippi casinos took in $205 million last month, compared to $223 million in July. An August dip is an annual event, state gaming officials have said, due to the lack of major holidays and end of the vacation season.

With a month to go, the City of Vicksburg has banked $7,010,812.38 in revenue-based taxes, ahead of last year’s pace by about $200,000.

Warren County has received $3,249,461.35, more than the $2,953,279 collected in 2004-05.

Vicksburg’s four casinos normally clear just more than $200 million annually from wagers, or about 1/12th of patrons’ losses statewide – not including the two casinos near Philadelphia owned by the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians. Silver Star and Golden Moon are exempt from state taxes and don’t report revenue.

This year, casino revenue statewide is $1.6 billion to date, down from $1.9 billion in the first eight months of 2005.

Katrina struck on Aug. 29, 2005, closing all Gulf Coast casinos, most of which have since reopened.

In the first six months after the storm, the Vicksburg market reaped benefits with monthly revenues surpassing totals for the same month in the previous year.

As casinos along the coast reopened, the local market returned to historical numbers.

Both city and county officials expect collections to remain steady for 2006-07, providing about $10 million.

Of a 3.2 percent tax on wagers the casinos collect, 10 percent goes to schools, 25 percent to Warren County and 65 percent to the City of Vicksburg. A second revenue tax is a .8 percent share of the state’s 8 percent revenue tax. It is split based on population proportions between Vicksburg and Warren County.

The four casinos in Vicksburg also pay the city $150 per gaming position per year, called a device tax. Paid about every other month, that fee has generated $733,440 for the city this year.

The casinos also pay about $2 million in property taxes to the city, county and Vicksburg Warren School District based on the value of their casinos, hotels and other property.

Money the city collects is usually rolled into its general fund, Mayor Laurence Leyens said, with individual projects the city uses it to pay for it is&#8220hard to track.” He called the concept of having gaming funds &#8220just semantics.”

Warren County, however, does treat its gaming tax revenue as a source of revenue separate from its general fund. This year, the county estimates gaming at $3,843,656 for 2006-07. Of that, County Administrator John Smith has said, $550,000 is earmarked to help pay for the sheriff’s department equipment.

The other $2.8 million will be used once again to fund road paving projects and anti-erosion projects that require local matching funds from local government. Also, unbudgeted projects such as the county’s purchase of the former city maintenance building at First North and Clay to house emergency dispatch and new voting machines have been paid for with gaming funds.

The Vicksburg casino market started developing when the Isle of Capri opened in August 1993. Of four original developments, Ameristar and Rainbow remain; Harrah’s sold to Horizon and the Isle was sold to Legends Gaming. The name was changed to DiamondJacks Casino and Hotel in July.

Two additional casino projects have cleared most local and state regulatory hurdles leading to construction, but have not started building.