Nevada gaming revenues surpassed $1 billion in August for the sixth straight month as the Las Vegas Strip and local casinos recorded strong gains over 2019, with the return of sports and entertainment and despite the first full month of a reinstated mask mandate.
The Las Vegas Strip, coming off an all-time record in July, reported $625.6 million in revenue in August, a 97% increase over August 2020, when casinos weren’t operating at 100% capacity. August 2021 also came in 20.2% higher than 2019, when revenue was $520.7 million and casinos were fully operational, according to the Gaming Control Board.
Locals casinos rose 41.2% to $250 million in August compared to August 2019 when it was $177.1 million. That was led by slot revenue being up 48.7% from August 2019.
Overall, Nevada’s casinos reported a total gaming win of $1.16 billion for August. This amounts to a 57% increase compared to August 2020, when licensees reported a gaming win of $742.9 million, and 22.3% over August 2019.
Nevada recorded a record $1.35 billion in July, up from $1.19 billion in June and $1.23 billion in May. The six months exceeding $1 billion comprise the second-longest streak of all time, which occurred over the eight months between November 2006 and May 2007.
Michael Lawton, the Control Board’s senior economic analyst, said strong demand across markets, federal stimulus, the continued rebound of leisure travel, and the return of special events and entertainment continued to propel gaming win past 2019 levels, which are now 7.8% above the January-August period of 2019.
The U.S. played Mexico in the 2021 Gold Cup final on Aug. 1 at Allegiant Stadium. Two Cirque Du Soleil shows returned in August: “Michael Jackson One” at Mandalay Bay on August 19 and “The Beatles LOVE” at the Mirage on August 26. Manny Pacquiao battled Yordenis Ugás in a welterweight boxing match at the T-Mobile Arena on August 21. Guns and Roses played Allegiant Stadium on August 27.
For the first eight months of 2021, the Strip, North Las Vegas, and Laughlin were the only markets down. The Strip was off 0.7% for 2021 compared to 2019.
The big gainers for the first eight months of 2021 were downtown, up 23.2% over 2019, and local casinos, up 18.9%. Downtown Las Vegas reported $64.1 million in revenue in August, an 80.5% increase over August 2020 and 41.7% over 2019. That was down from $71.2 million in July and $79 million in June, an all-time record.
For the third quarter, Deutsche Bank reported Strip revenue rose 33.6%, compared to the third quarter of 2019. In that same three-month period, slot revenue rose 38.5%, compared to 2019. Baccarat revenue rose 45.5% in the same period. Other table revenue rose 19.4%.
Clark County reported $993.4 million in revenue in August, a 67% increase over August 2020.
Reno reported $65.5 million in August, a 19.1% increase over August 2020. Reno was up 1.5% compared to 2019.
The Caldor Fire impacted the Tahoe numbers significantly, with the closure of Hwy. 50 on August 22 curtailing travel to Lake Tahoe from the Bay Area and Sacramento, Lawton said. Both markets were down compared to 2019 and the volumes were off significantly. North Lake Tahoe slot volume dropped 7.9% compared to 2019. South Lake Tahoe slot volume fell 11.5% versus 2020 and 16.8% compared to 2019; table game volume was 20.7% compared to 2020 and 23.8% versus 2019.
“Washoe might have felt some impact. However, the market was up compared to 2020 (18.7%) and 2019 (4.3%) and visitation was down just slightly (4.9%) compared to July, which had five weekends compared to four,” Lawton said.
Sports pools won $14.3 million, down 15.6% ($2.6 million) versus August 2020. Sports pool drop ($427.6 million) was down 10% ($47.4 million) versus August 2020. The NBA regular season was completed in August 2020 and the playoffs began that same month due to the pandemic. This year’s NBA season concluded in June. Sports pool win is up 57.4% and write is up 36.7% for the first eight months of 2021 versus the same period in 2019, Lawton said.
Sports wagers made with mobile apps won $8.7 million on $296.8 million in handle, holding 2.9%. This write amount accounted for 69.4% of total wagers, Lawton said.
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority reported Thursday that 2.99 million travelers visited Las Vegas in August, a decline of 9.2% over July’s 3.3 million visitors. The total was also 16% lower than the baseline of 3.57 million visitors in August 2019.
Taking into account both inbound and outbound, 3.8 million passengers traveled through McCarran International Airport, down from 4.1 million in July and 4.4 million in August 2019.
On a daily basis, 49,375 vehicles crossed the Nevada-California border on I-15 in August. That’s down from 56,713 in July, but higher than the 48,212 in August 2019.
Hotel occupancy reached 72.8% in August, a decline from 79.4% in July. It was 87.7% in August 2019. Weekend occupancy reached 87%, just below the 88% in July. It was 95% in August 2019.
The average daily room rate was $148.56 on the Strip in August, down from $160.71 in July. It was $131.33 in August 2019.
