Nevada's Poker Rooms Collect $8.73m In October

In October 2015, Nevada’s gambling industry generated $887,578,000 in revenues, of which $8,730,000, or roughly 1%, was accounted for by the state’s 71 land-based poker rooms. That figure represents a 0.15% decline compared to the same month in 2014, and for the past 12 months revenues are currently lower by 2.28% at $118,260,000.
Although the figures are hardly dramatic, they are of concern to the poker industry as the contraction in growth has occurred at a time when Las Vegas tourism is booming, and the city is attracting record numbers of visitors. Of course, the World Series Of Poker helped Nevada’s poker rooms swell in June ($15,840,000), and in July ($11,458,000), but outside of the prestigious tournament series the numbers have been disappointing to say the least.
Unfortunately, poker’s downward trend has been ongoing over the past few years, and while Nevada’s poker rooms in 2013 generated $123,891,000 in revenues, the following year that figure dropped to $119,904,000, and that figure is expected to fall further in 2015. In addition, Nevada currently has the lowest number of live poker tables since 2005, with at least 14 poker rooms having been shut over the past two and a half years, including Hooters, Riviera, Tropicana, M Resort, Texas Station, and El Cortez.
Needless to say, poker represents a far less lucrative proposition for casinos than it did in the mid-noughties, and these days operators are increasingly maximizing their revenues by clearing away their poker rooms to make more space for their slot machine offerings. In addition, Nevada’s online gambling vertical has also disappointed in 2015, and in the absence of at least three iPoker rooms operating in the state, no more monthly revenue will be released.
Finally, just 12% of the 41 million visitors to Las Vegas in 2014 came to gamble, with the rest focusing on the non-gaming attractions the city has to offer. This is further bad news for the poker industry, although it represents positive news for Nevada’s economy as a whole.
Nevada Poker Numbers For 2015:
January: $9,782,000
February: $8,530,000
March: $9,690,000
April: $8,511,000
May: $10,320,000
June: $15,840,000
July: $11,458,000
August: $8,510,000
September: $8,340,000
October: $8,730,000