A 26.6% decline in Nevada gaming revenues during January wasn’t a surprise since the month was going up against a $1 billion pre-pandemic January 2020.
Las Vegas Strip revenues declined 43.8% in January, which was missing the large New Year’s Day celebrations and the Consumer Electronics Show, which went virtual this year. Also, casinos statewide were operating under 25% capacity limitations due to COVID-19 surges.
It was a different story in parts of Northern Nevada and rural areas of the state, according to figures released by the Gaming Control Board Thursday.
Washoe County, which includes Reno, saw a 4.9% gaming revenue increase while rural parts of the state experienced double-digit increases.
Statewide, gaming revenues were $761.8 million, compared to $1.037 billion a year ago. The Strip reported gaming revenues of $321.5 million, compared to $572.2 million last January.
The Strip accounted for 90.9% of the state’s total decline.
J.P. Morgan gaming analyst Joe Greff investors the Strip will see better numbers from February.
“Given improved vaccination rates, slower COVID-19 new case trends, and increased capacity limits, we think this month likely marks the bottom of Las Vegas Strip gaming revenue,” Greff said.
Macquarie Securities gaming analyst Chad Beynon said recent commentary from Strip resort operator during fourth-quarter earnings announcements were “slightly more cautious” on the January numbers.
“So we view this as a small positive,” Beynon said. “Obviously, a lack of non-gaming spending will continue to impair near-term results, but it is encouraging to see (a) healthy (and) spending visitor.”
All of Southern Nevada’s Clark County, which includes Las Vegas, saw gaming revenues decline 31.7%. Only one area of Clark County – Mesquite, which is 90 miles east of Las Vegas and considered somewhat rural – saw a 6.3% gaming revenue increase.
Reno gaming revenues increased almost 1.9% to $48.4 million while North Lake Tahoe was up 23.7%. South Lake Tahoe casinos saw gaming revenues decline 11.5%, but rural areas, such as Elko, Wendover, and the Carson Valley area, all had double-digit increases.
Gaming Control Board Senior Research Analyst Michael Lawton said Northern Nevada and the rural were primarily driven by locals business and drive-in customers from nearby areas. For example, Salt Lake City and other parts of Utah have long been considered feeder markets for Wendover.
“Locals and in drive-in domestic play are recording increases to gaming win during the pandemic,” Lawton said. “This month, in addition to the player mix, these markets also benefited from a favorable calendar which included two additional weekend days.”
The overall Nevada gaming revenue figure for 2020 was $7.87 billion, a decline of 34.6% over 2019 when the state recorded just its third $12 billion gaming revenue year in its history. Strip gaming revenues declined 43.3% in 2020.
Record sports betting month
Nevada sportsbooks collected $52.4 million in revenues during January, a whopping 159.9% increase from a year ago and the fourth-highest single-month revenue total of all time.
Wagering on sports betting totaled $645.5 million, a 28.8% increase and the second-highest total in Nevada history. Lawton credited an additional week of football games in January 2021 versus a year ago with kicking up the totals.
Mobile sports wagering accounted for $363.5 million, or 56.2%, of all sports bets during the month.
Las Vegas visitation falls 63.5%
COVID-19 slowed Las Vegas visitation during January with a little more than 1.29 million visitors coming to Southern Nevada, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. The 63.5% drop was due to the absence of two large tradeshows, the Consumer Electronics Show and the World of Concrete.
LVCVA Vice President of Research Kevin Bagger the loss of the convention business led to the year-over-year declines in visitors, hotel occupancy, and average daily room rates. The dormant convention segment resulted in midweek hotel occupancy at just 22.5%. A year ago, midweek occupancy was 83.8%.
Total Las Vegas hotel occupancy was at 31.6% with weekend occupancy at 48.3%. Both totals were higher than December’s occupancy rates.
The average daily hotel room rates among the open resorts were $90.71, down -40.9% from a year ago. Revenue per available room (RevPar) was $28.66, down 78% from January 2020. The declines in RevPar are associated with the lack of live entertainment and reduced restaurant offerings during the month.
Howard Stutz is the executive editor of CDC Gaming. He can be reached at hstutz@cdcgaming.com. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.
