Nevada casino gaming win can’t keep up with record numbers

Casino gaming win declined in nearly every statewide market in October, mostly because a year ago the state had its best October ever and the sixth-best month in history, the Nevada Gaming Control Board reported Wednesday.

The state’s 440 licensed casinos reported a win of $1.28 billion, down 2.2 percent from a year ago while Clark County’s $1.11 billion win was off by the same percentage from 2023.

While win was down year over year, analysts were encouraged that revenue from slot machines was the highest ever in October and for the calendar year, win is up slightly. It’s off 2.5 percent for the fiscal year that began in July.

October’s slot win of $932.3 million beat the previous high of $914.1 million set in June 2024. The slot machine hold percentage — the amount kept by casinos — was 7.55 percent vs. 7.51 percent last year.

Downtown Las Vegas, which had its best month in history in October 2023, was down 11 percent to $86.8 million while Strip casinos were down 3.1 percent to $692.1 million.

“The comparison was moderately difficult, however the level of play was there,” said Michael Lawton, the Control Board’s senior economic analyst who crunches the gaming numbers for the state.

“Unfortunately, the games didn’t hold compared to last October, especially baccarat, football wagering and roulette,” he said. “I am encouraged by slot win which set a new all-time record for monthly win on volumes which were up a solid 3.6 percent. Additionally, table games play remains healthy but continues to face difficult comparisons on the hold side.”

Lawton said casino companies also faced a tough comparison on the October calendar with one fewer weekend day in 2024.

Still, the state’s casinos are performing far better than in prepandemic months. Statewide total win was 25.9 percent — $264.4 million — over October 2019. October also represented the 44th straight month that the state has recorded at least $1 billion in monthly gaming win.

Comparison explained

“Because the prior month ended on a weekday, slot win, slot handle, and table drop are unaffected by calendar impacts,” gaming industry analyst Joe Greff of New York-based J.P. Morgan explained.

“However, for October 2023, because the prior month ended on a weekend, slot win for Saturday, Sept. 30, was reported in October results, overstating October 2023 slot revenue (a quirk on Nevada reporting; slot handle, table drop, and table win are unaffected). There was no such impact in 2019. The net of these impacts created a one-day unfavorable year-over-year comparison and a neutral comparison versus 2019 for slot win during October 2024.”

On the Strip, except for slot machines, gamblers played luckier than the casinos, with players winning 12.7 percent compared with 15.2 percent a year ago on table games, 11.9 percent compared with 15.3 percent on baccarat, and 3.7 percent vs. 7.3 percent on sports betting. As a result, table game win was down 14.5 percent to $263.7 million, baccarat was down 23.4 percent to $68.7 million and sports win was down 50.4 percent to $13.5 million. However, slot win increased 5.5 percent to $428.3 million.

Special events

Several special events drew crowds to the Strip in October. Maroon 5 and Lenny Kravitz headlined at Dolby Live at Park MGM, Garth Brooks and Adele had performances at the Colosseum in Caesars Palace, Keith Urban performed at Fontainebleau, Carrie Underwood’s residency at Resorts World Las Vegas returned and the Eagles were at the Sphere. Big-draw sporting events included Raiders games against the Pittsburgh Steelers and Kansas City Chiefs and the NASCAR Xfinity Series and Cup Series at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway that month.

Gaming taxes are key to the state’s general fund and so far during the current fiscal year, tax revenue is down. In October, gaming tax receipts were down 4.2 percent to $79.6 million compared with a year ago. The five-month total for the fiscal year so far is $402.2 million, down 2.9 percent from the 2024 fiscal year.

Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on X.