Casinos on the Las Vegas Strip saw baccarat hold cut in half and took a hit in gaming revenue in January, recording a 11% decline.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board reported Friday that statewide gaming revenue fell 6.5% in January from $1.43 billion a year ago to $1.34 billion last month. Strip revenue went from $840 million a year ago to $747.6 million last month. The reason was a 44% decline in baccarat revenue from $214.3 million a year ago to $118.5 million last month, despite an increase in drop of 14%.
The reason is baccarat hold went from an unusually high 26.7% a year ago to 13% in January. By contrast, slot revenue rose 2.7%, with a 7% increase in handle.
Locals casinos saw nearly a 4% dip in gaming revenue in January from $282 million to $271.9 million, shaped by a 3% decline in slot revenue, despite an increase in handle. Slot hold went from 7.1% to 6.7%.
Downtown Las Vegas recorded a 5.1% decline in revenue from $83.7 million to $79.4 million.
The Boulder Strip, the category that includes a number of locals casinos, fell nearly 7% from $87.2 million to $81.2 million.
North Las Vegas was the lone exception in southern Nevada, with a nearly 5% increase in revenue to $24.5 million, up from $23.8 million.
Elsewhere in southern Nevada, Mesquite continued its strength, with a 14% increase in gaming revenue from $17.3 million a year ago to $19.8 million last month.
Gaming revenue dropped off in Laughlin by 3% from $42.2 million to $40.8 million.
In northern Nevada, Reno recorded a 3% increase to $69 million, up from $67 million. Nearby Sparks had a 10% increase from $13.5 million to $14.9 million.
South Lake Tahoe recorded a 10% increase to $24.5 million while North Lake Tahoe declined 4% to $1.9 million.
Elko County saw a 13% increase to $36.8 million, up from $32.6 million.
