Nevada Casino Revenues Flat at $996M in July

Nevada Casino Revenues Flat at $996M in July

Nevada’s casino industry generated $996.4 million in July, lower by 0.2% compared to the same month in 2017, and marking only its second decline this year since revenues dipped by 2.05% in January. Leading the market lower was a difficult year-on-year comparison in which just shy of $1 billion was collected last July, as well as a lower statewide hold recorded at its gaming tables last month.

Table Games Plummet by 10%

While Nevada’s slots revenue increased by 5.6% to $667.9 million in July, table games, on the other hand, saw their revenue plummet by 10.2% to $328.7 million. In fact, roulette was the only table game in positive territory last month after reporting a 1.5% revenue increase to $32.8 million. In the meantime, baccarat was down by 16.4% year-on-year at $101 million; blackjack slid by 6.6% to $93.4 million, while craps revenue contracted by 13.3% to $35.1 million.

Commenting upon the latest results, Michael Lawton, senior research analyst for the administration division of the Control Board, stated:

“Game and table win was the reason statewide win was off, which was due to baccarat and mini-baccarat recording lower volume amounts, but the decreases were primarily the result of lower hold. Due to slot collection timing, July benefited compared to last year; however, it wasn’t enough to make up for the lower hold percentages recorded by baccarat, min-baccarat, twenty-one, craps and roulette.”

Las Vegas Strip Down 5.8%

In July, the Las Vegas Strip, whose 50 casinos typically accounts for around half the state’s casino revenues, reported $533.1 million in winnings, or 5.75% less than the same month last year. That amount was also lower by 13% versus July of 2016.

Although slot machine revenue grew by 3% to $227.5 million in July, the Strip’s table games fared significantly worse with their winnings dropping by 13.7% to $255.5 million year-on-year. Affecting the numbers was a lower table game win percentage that fell to 13.6% from 15.8% in July 2017.

Once again, roulette was the table game segment’s sole outlier with its revenue growing by 1.5% year-over-year. On the other hand, blackjack revenue was off by 11% at $65.9 million; craps was down by 18.4% at $24.5 million; and baccarat was also lower by 18% at $99.4 million.

Other Nevada Markets

The Strip’s relatively lackluster performance was not matched by other casinos markets around the state, though, which fared significantly better by comparison. The Boulder Strip, for instance, was up more than 18%, while North Las Vegas noted a 15% improvement, Downtown Las Vegas an 8% increase, and South Lake Tahoe a whopping 25.5% revenue spike.

Reno, however, saw its revenue decline by 1.4% in July. Fortunately,”The Biggest Little City in the World” has developed its economy beyond just hotels and casinos, and now derives a substantial proportion of its income from the major tech and startup companies that have set up a base in the region. This includes the likes of Tesla, Apple, Google, Panasonic and Switch.

Sports Book Up 674%

The Silver State’s sports book completed sixty straight month of gains after generating $4.1 million in revenue last month, or 674% more than they did in July 2017. Accounting for the lion’s share of business was baseball whose revenue rose by 123% to $3.8 million, with its impressive performance offset by basketball which lost $3.2 million in July as punters finally got around to cashing in their winning tickets.

Elsewhere, the ‘other’ sports category improved by 38.6% to $2.9 million, thanks in no small part to the 2018 FIFA World Cup, while American football saw its revenue drop by around 33% to $418k.

Visitor Volume Down 3.4%

Nevada pioneered the modern casino gaming model which today places the utmost importance on generating a greater slice of its revenues from non-gaming amenities. These days, for instance, Strip casinos derive just one-third of their revenues from gambling.

Still, a weak convention calendar and one less weekend day saw visitation numbers in July fall by 3.4% to 3.7 million people. Convention visitation, in particular, noted a sharp 19.5% year-on-year drop to 408,000, marking its largest percentage decline of the year, while citywide occupancy was off also by a more moderate 3.7% at 90.8%.