UPDATE 3-Boyd Gaming reports first-quarter net loss

(Adds company comments, analyst comment, byline, updates stock price, changes dateline, previous NEW YORK)

By Deena Beasley

LOS ANGELES, April 29 (Reuters) - Casino operator Boyd Gaming Corp (BYD.N: Quote, Profile, Research) reported a first-quarter net loss on Tuesday as it took a one-time charge for writing down the value of a recently acquired gaming facility and saw its revenue cut as the economic slowdown pinched leisure spending.

Boyd, which chiefly runs casinos catering to Las Vegas locals, off the Strip, said it expects consumer spending to remain shaky and its second-quarter earnings may fall short of analyst estimates.

The company's shares, which have lost more than 40 percent of their value so far this year, were little changed -- up 10 cents at $19.02 in midday trading.

The Las Vegas-based company reported a first-quarter net loss of $32.6 million, or 37 cents per share, compared with a net profit of $217.9 million, or $2.46 per share, in the year-ago quarter.

Boyd, which is building a new casino resort called Echelon on the Las Vegas Strip, said customers were pulling back on discretionary spending as they face economic hardship, a sign the gambling market, sometimes regarded as "recession proof," faces a tough year.

The current quarter was hit by a $84 million charge for writing down the value of its recently acquired Dania Jai-Alai slot parlor and gaming facility in Florida, which it has decided not to develop for the time being. The year-ago quarter was lifted by a one-time $285 million gain from selling the Barbary Coast casino.

Excluding the write-down and other one-time items, Boyd reported a profit of 34 cents per share, just ahead of Wall Street's average estimate of 32 cents per share, according to Reuters Estimates.