CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) - State Budget Director Andrew Clinger said Tuesday that more budget cuts are on the table for the fiscal year that starts July 1, following a bleak report on taxes based on Nevada casino winnings.

The casino win figures for March, released Friday, showed a 1.5 percent decline compared with the same month a year earlier. Taxes
based on the win were down too, pushing the state's projected revenue shortfall through mid-2009 to more than $960 million.

State officials will wait until additional revenue reports are released later this month before deciding how to proceed. If those revenues are lower than the state's revised projections, more cuts are likely to be implemented, Clinger said.

Clinger said Friday that additional cuts may be needed beyond the 4.5 percent reductions and other savings already imposed - and that could mean staff cuts and layoffs.

No decisions have been made, and both Gov. Jim Gibbons and legislators would be involved in any decision on layoffs, Gibbons press secretary Ben Keickhefer said.

Clinger also has said that if the revenue trends continue the state could be faced with a two-year budget of about $6.9 billion starting in July 2009. That would be barely higher - by only 1 or 2 percent - than the current two-year budget.

That would contrast with state spending that normally increases 15 to 20 percent from one budget cycle to another to keep up with various demands for services in a rapidly growing state. In this case, the demands would still grow - but the revenue wouldn't be there to pay for the expansion of services required by those demands.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)