Nevada’s casino industry reversed a two-month gaming revenue slide in September despite declines in the state’s two major tourism markets, Las Vegas and Reno.
Calendar and double-digit percentage increases from three Southern Nevada markets and rural Nevada helped boost the state’s figures.
The Gaming Control Board said Tuesday that Nevada gaming revenues were $991.2 million in September, a 1.26 percent increase from a year ago. The Las Vegas Strip, however, saw gaming revenue fall 3.7 percent to $546 million, and Reno gaming revenue declined 1.55 percent to $57.8 million.
For the first nine months of the year, gaming revenue in Nevada is up 2 percent. Gaming Control Board Senior Research Analyst Michael Lawton said all the state’s major markets, including the Strip, are up for the year.
The declines in the major casino areas didn’t surprise analysts, as some of the large publicly-traded gaming operators had predicted that third quarter numbers were going to be lower than expected.
In September, slot machine revenue on the Las Vegas Strip grew 5 percent and slot wagering was up 3 percent. Baccarat revenues on the Strip, in contrast, were down 27 percent, and wagering on the high-end game was down 14.6 percent. However, wagering on other table games – such as 21, roulette, and craps – was up 5 percent.
The results led Credit Suisse gaming analyst Cameron McKnight to say the Strip numbers were “much better than feared.” He added that third quarter concerns within the investment community were “overdone,” citing slot machine volumes and mass-market table game numbers as proving that the “everyday” customer was “doing well.”
Macquarie Securities gaming analyst Chad Beynon said the hold percentage on Las Vegas Strip baccarat was 9.9 percent – the lowest since October 2015.
Also Tuesday, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority said tourism slipped 3.1 percent to 3.457 million visitors in September. The decline was due in part to one fewer weekend day compared to a year ago, and decreased convention attendance, which fell 5.6 percent.
McKnight said the visitation decline met the with the “low expectations” set by casino companies. “July and September were both weak – not a surprise,” McKnight said.
Meanwhile, casinos in North Las Vegas (up 22.4 percent), downtown Las Vegas (up 11.6 percent), and the Boulder Strip, which includes the Southern Nevada community of Henderson (up 27.45 percent) helped off-set the Strip’s down month.
Several areas of rural Nevada – while small in gaming revenue when compared with Las Vegas and Reno – helped boost the results. Elko County was up 12.8 percent and Carson Valley saw gaming revenue grow 10.5 percent.
September began on a weekend and in some markets, slot machine results carry over from the previous month, which may have positively impacted the results.
Sports betting is now legal in five more states, but the competition didn’t seem to affect Nevada. Revenue from sports betting was $56.3 million, which included $44.3 million from college and professional football. Wagers on sports topped $571 million, an all-time single-month record for the state.
Lawton said increased legal sports betting across the U.S. “gave more exposure and more credibility” to Nevada’s sports gambling market.
The decline of 1.38 percent in Northern Nevada’s Washoe County gaming revenue – which included Reno’s dip – ended the region’s 16 straight months of gaming revenue increases. Lawton said the comparison to a year ago – August 2017 was up 8 percent – was tough to overcome.
Howard Stutz is the executive editor of CDC Gaming. He can be reached at hstutz@cdcgamingreports.com. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.
