Gaming revenue on the Las Vegas Strip took another hit in May. Locals casinos held steady and valued-oriented Mesquite and Laughlin both recorded a strong month.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board released its May stats Friday that showed the Strip fell 3.9% in May to $713.7 million, down from $742.5 million. Statewide, gaming revenue fell 2.2% to $1.29 billion. By contrast, casinos that serve Las Vegas locals increased 0.2% increase in May.
The 3.41 million visitors that came to Las Vegas in May fell 6.5% from May 2024 when it was 3.65 million. For the year, visitation at 16.45 million is down 6.5% or more than 1.1 million people.
Airport passenger counts were down 3.9%, while vehicle traffic at the Nevada and California border fell 5%.
“With headwinds of ongoing economic uncertainty, the destination hosted approximately 3.4 million visitors in May, down 6.5% year-over-year,” the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority said in its monthly report.
The good news is convention attendance continues to be strong, up 10.7% in May to 511,200. Convention attendance is up 3.3% for the year.
“Convention attendance reached approx. 511,000 for the month, supported in part by show rotations including LightFair International (8,500 attendees), the Bitcoin conference (30,000 attendees), and the National Automatic Merchandising Association/NAMA Show (5,000 attendees),” the LVCVA said. “Also, a few shows were held in May this year vs. other months last year, including Las Vegas Antique Jewelry & Watch Show (7,500 attendees, held in June last year) and PETZONE360 Live (5,000 attendees, held in April last year).”
Hotel occupancy at 83% was down from 86.1% in May 2024. Strip occupancy at 85.3% was down from 88.5%. Weekend occupancy of 89.9% was down from 93.4%. Midweek occupancy was 79.3%, down from 82.5%. The average daily room rate was $198.20, down from $202.59. The biggest decline was downtown, where rates fell 12.4% to $109.39, with occupancy at 74.8%, down from 76.1%.
Downtown Las Vegas took a big hit in May, falling 11.3% from $74.8 million to $66.3 million. The Boulder Strip fell 8.3% from $84.9 million to $77.7 million.
North Las Vegas had a good month, increasing 6.5% from $24.7 million to $26.3 million.
For the month, Strip slot handle was up 1.7% year-over-year, while table drop was down 1.4% (+3.4% excluding baccarat), according to Deutsche Bank. Strip slot revenue of $381.2 million was down 5.4% year-over-year, as hold of 7.4% was down about 55 basis points. The 7.4% hold compares to the 8% hold over the course of 2024.
Table revenue on the Strip, excluding baccarat, was $222.6 million, up 2.4%. Drop was up 3.4%, hold down about 15 basis points to 16.1%, which compares to the 15.4% hold over the course of 2024.
Strip baccarat drop was down 9.9% year-over-year with revenue down 10%, as baccarat hold of 16.1% was unchanged. The 16.1% baccarat hold compares to the full-year 2024 hold of 15.7%.
Overall, May Strip table revenue of $318.7 million (excluding poker) was down 3.5%, as drop decreased 1.4% and table hold of 15.5% was down about 35 basis points. The 15.5% table hold compares to a hold of 14.8% for 2024.
Among locals casinos, May slot revenue of $220.1 million was down 4.2% year-over-year, as hold was down about 60 basis points year over year to 6.0%, offsetting a 5.2% year-over-year increase in slot handle, according to Deutsche Bank.
Also among locals casinos, table revenue of $58.2 million was up 21.3% year over year, as a hold of 17.5% was up about 275 basis points and table drop was up 2% year-over-year. For the second quarter to date period, locals gaming revenue is up 1.7% year-over-year.
Outside of Las Vegas in southern Nevada, Mesquite rose 9.7% to $17.8 million, up from $16.3 million. Laughlin increased 17% to $43.2 million, up from $36.9 million.
In northern Nevada, Reno decreased 2.8% to $63.4 million, down from $65.2 million. Neighboring Sparks had a 11.8% increase to $17.1 million, up from $15.3 million. South Lake Tahoe had a 23.4% decrease to $13.5 million, down from $17.6 million.
