While Las Vegas casinos are looking to drive up their profit margins with a more events-based economy, those located Downtown are proving the concept works when done well.
Even on a hot summer day, Downtown Las Vegas and the Fremont Street Experience is bustling with locals and tourists. On June 23, the Robbie Krieger Band, led by the former guitarist for The Doors, provided a free show in before a packed crowd comprised of people of all ages.
Although it was 100 degrees on the hot Saturday night, fans packed the stage area as Krieger and his band performed classic hits for about 90 minutes.
At the nearby Downtown Las Vegas Events Center, classic rap and hip hop filled the performance area with a multitude of throwback acts.
Overhead, along the Fremont Street Experience, the Slotzilla zipline ride remained busy throughout the evening, with up to four at a time zipping Superman-style along the length of the Fremont Street Experience. For the most part, it’s a very safe, fun, and exciting place to be for people of all ages.
Inside the casinos lining the Fremont Street Experience, table games and slots were mostly full of patrons readily spending their cash, and the bars and restaurants were doing brisk business.
That activity is reflected in the Downtown Las Vegas gaming numbers.
The Downtown Las Vegas market posted a $549.7 million win for the 2016 fiscal year ending June 30, the Nevada Gaming Control Board reported. That amount is up 5.36 percent from 2015.
By comparison, all non-restricted gaming in Clark County rose by only 0.58 percent for the year, at $9.61 billion. Statewide, Nevada casinos won $11.1 billion for the fiscal year, a 0.66 percent increase from a year ago.
Slots are still king in Downtown Las Vegas, accounting for $399.01 million of its $549.7 million win during the past year – nearly 73 percent of the win total. Table games accounted for $150.67 million of the win total last year.
Driving much of the success Downtown are penny slots and multi-denomination slots. Penny slots generated $193.44 million in revenues from July 1, 2015, through June 30 at 20 gaming locations in Downtown Las Vegas.
Downtown Penny slots generated an 11.34 percent win rate and 12.58 percent more revenues for the year. Multi-denomination games produced 97.04 million in revenues during that same period, up 4.54 percent from a year earlier, with a 4.91 percent win rate.
Dollar slots produced $42.17 million in revenues, with 5.22 percent win rate and up 4.24 percent. Quarter slots produced a $41.78 million win total, down 1.87 percent from last year, with a win percentage of 5.52 percent.
Nickel slots, although affordable, saw a dramatic drop in win totals at Downtown casinos, with a 5.21 million win, down more than 26 percent from the prior year. Nickel slots produced a 6.92 win percentage.
The $150.67 million in table game revenues Downtown mostly are driven by Blackjack, which generated $42.42 million in revenues and a 12.98 win percentage during the past year. Craps accounted for $28.53 million for the second-largest table games revenue, down 2.42 percent, with a win percentage of 12.49 percent.
A couple blocks away from the Fremont Street Experience, the historic El Cortez offers historic charm in city where sentimentality generally does not exist, and the loosest Blackjack odds in Las Vegas.
A recent study by CDC Gaming indicates the El Cortez’ odds on splits make the casino the best place to play Blackjack in Las Vegas. The El Cortez has the added benefit of once being owned by Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel and Meyer Lansky, along with Gus Greenbaum and Moe Sedway, for those who enjoy Mob lore.
It’s façade is the same as it was in 1952, and the El Cortez is listed among the National Register of Historic Places.
Helping to drive the Downtown market’s gaming success is one of the most social locations in Las Vegas, the Fremont Street Experience and its many attractions.
The city’s recent crackdown on vagrancy along the Fremont Street Experience and to better organize the many performance artists seeking tips has helped to create a safe and family-friendly atmosphere, although more work is needed.
On this particular night, one panhandler, sitting on a motorized scooter and with a dog, which clearly had far more sense than its owner, continually threatened anyone with great bodily harm who might have come near his dog while sitting in a designated performance space.
I accidentally tripped over the dog, and its owner lunged out of his medical scooter, balled up his fists and threatened to hit me.
People like that primarily are why I am licensed to carry a concealed firearm in Nevada. There are too many aggressive, obviously drug-addled and drunk vagrants in this city, and many choose to stay near the Fremont Street Experience.
Locals expect to be able to leave our firearms at home when we visit gambling establishments on the Las Vegas Strip or the Fremont Street Experience. We know there generally is ample armed security on hand, and most casinos actually take the time to enforce gun-free zones by scanning people for weapons, instead of relying on the honor system, which recent events in our nation clearly indicate does not work.
I searched a couple blocks before locating a Fremont Street Security member, who told me they were aware of the offending vagrant and would get rid of him. Hopefully, they also won’t allow him to ever return.
Despite continued trouble with aggressive panhandlers, the Fremont Street Experience is providing the kind of unique, immersive and social events that keep casino floors full and producing profits.
