Nevada Casino Revenue Increase 0.27% in October

In October, Nevada’s casinos generated $988.8 million in revenue, a figure that was higher by just 0.27% compared to the same month in 2016. From that total, slots revenue was up by 3.8% to $655.5 million year-on-year, but down by 7% from the previous month; while table games revenue saw its business contract by 6% to $333.2 million.
Despite the overall numbers being generally flat, the Las Vegas Strip, which traditionally accounts for more than half the gambling revenues produced in the state, reported a 6% revenue decline to $528.7 million last month, resulting in around $34 million less revenue than that collected in the same month last year.
Helping to explain some of the decline was a difficult year-on-year comparison in which revenue had risen by 14% in October of 2016. In addition, the horrific incident which took place at the beginning of the month in which a crazed gunman killed 58 people and injured another 500 people also resulted in fewer tourists visiting Las Vegas.
According to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, visitor numbers fell by 4.2% to 3.6 million people in October, with the organization blaming the lower number on trips being cancelled in the wake of the Mandalay Bay shooting incident. Commenting upon the statistics, Kevin Bagger, executive director of research for the LVCVA, explained:
“Yes, I believe the shooting did have some effect on the leisure side (of the market), specifically the leisure drive side, because at the same time we had strong convention business.”
While convention attendance noted an impressive 35.9% surge in numbers, and passengers at McCarran International Airport rose by 1.5% in October, both daily auto traffic (-1.6%) and hotel occupancy (-2.7%) slid in October, with Bagger noting that it is easier to cancel a drive trip than one by air.
Elsewhere in the state, southern Nevada produced the highest growth rate with revenues rising by 17.1% to $78.7 million, while downtown Las Vegas also posted impressive growth of 10% to $63.6 million in October. Washoe County, too, was in positive territory and reported a 3.3% rise in its revenue to $71.9 million.