三年金融危机的痕迹一直停留在拉斯维加斯赌城，博彩分析专家曾预测，拉斯维加斯赌城可能需要到2012年底才可能完全从经济衰退中复苏。然一月的收入数字表明，复苏周期可能会比预期的更短。

　　今年一月，拉斯维加斯赌城博彩收入增长了29％，高达623.5亿美元，更令人惊讶的是，主要的收入来源除了老虎机、21点和百家乐以外，博彩贵宾业务的贡献率很大。拉斯维加斯赌城博彩贵宾业务的发展与扩大，使众多业内人对拉斯维加斯赌场经济复苏速度持乐观态度。

　　博彩分析师布拉德·道金斯说：“这只是一个开始，可能在未来几个月，拉斯维加斯的赌场经济会出现雪球效应。” “拉斯维加斯是一个城市，如果能一直保持蓬勃的发展势头，将能打开一个良好的复苏局面。”

　　但在本年度，拉斯维加斯赌场经济形势的改善还是很缓慢的，虽然今年1月收入增幅是去年的百分之六，但远没有到达可以摆脱经济衰退的程度。

　　译文：

　　Las Vegas casinos have been stuck in a financial rut for more than three years, and analysts had predicted that it may take until the end of 2012 before the industry fully recovers from the economic recession. Revenue figures from January, however, indicate that the turnaround may happen much quicker than anticipated.

　　In January, revenue on the Las Vegas Strip increased 29 percent, to $623.5 million. The increase came surprisingly, not from slots and blackjack, but from baccarat. The high rollers were out in January, helping the casinos gain optimism about the speed of the recovery.

　　"This is the kind of percentage increase that could start a snowball effect for Las Vegas casinos over the next couple of months," said Gaming Analyst Brad Dawkins. "Las Vegas is a city that has always thrived off of momentum, and if they can put two, three, four good months together, it could lead to a strong second half of the year and beyond."

　　On the fiscal year, the improvement has been slow. Revenue is up almost six percent on the fiscal year, an increase over the previous year, but still not enough for the industry to proclaim victory over the recession. Still, the improvement is enough to have gaming executives believe the worst could be behind them.