Nevada Casino Revenues Down 3% to $922M in March

In March, Nevada’s casinos reported a 3% fall in revenues to $922 million, compared to the $951 million that was collected in the same month last year. The state’s monthly revenues were affected by less action taking place at the baccarat tables, as well as gamblers having a lucky month playing the slots, and betting at sports.
Breaking the figures down further, the casinos’ slot operations generated 3% lower revenues at $616.6 million in March; baccarat revenue were down by 3.5% to $65.7 million; craps were down 16.7% to $32.3 million; while roulette reported a 18.3% rise in revenues to $29.5 million. Meanwhile, Nevada’s poker and online poker product remained fairly flat at $9.7 million in March.
As a result, the state collected around $73 million by way of tax revenues, down by 8% from March 2015, and commenting on the latest results, Nevada Gaming Control Board senior research analyst, Michael Lawton, said:
“I think we expected a little bit more this month, but it didn’t happen.”
Looking at the individual markets, the Las Vegas Strip saw its gambling revenues contract by 4% to $487 million last month, while downtown Las Vegas also noted a 4% fall in business to $51 million. The news was more positive elsewhere around Nevada, though, with Reno up 1% to $47 million, and South Lake Tahoe up 23% to $17 million in March.
There may be some good news soon for Nevada’s gaming industry, too, as the Civil Aviation Administration of China has recently approved Hainan Airlines to run three direct weekly flights from Beijing to Las Vegas starting in September, pending approval by the U.S. Department of Transportation. Commenting on the positive development, analyst John DeCree said:
“The approval [from Chinese authorities] is a major first step in potentially bringing even more Chinese carriers to Las Vegas. The direct flights from China to Las Vegas would create incremental visitation, increased frequency, and length of stay.”