Slide in Nevada gaming win continues with 4.2% decline in November
Nevada gaming win continued its downward slide with November totals down 4.2 percent from a year ago, the Nevada Gaming Control Board reported Thursday.
The state’s 441 largest casinos reported win of $1.31 billion, while Clark County also was off 4.2 percent to $1.16 billion and the Strip fell 3.9 percent to $788.7 million.
Win numbers were expected to be down as a result of attendance at November’s Formula One Las Vegas Grand Prix not being as large as the inaugural race in 2023. Earlier in the month, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority reported visitation was flat and hotel occupancy and the average daily room rate was down.
“It seems our numbers in Southern Nevada were lower as expected, considering attendance at Formula One wasn’t as large as the previous year,” said Michael Lawton, the Control Board’s senior economic analyst who crunches the gaming numbers for the state.
“Obviously we were facing a difficult comparison last November which was the third highest win total in state history. However, if we were not negatively impacted by slot revenue timing (November 2024 ended on a Saturday) the state would have recorded an increase year over year.”
Other parts of the state also had trouble keeping up with November 2023.
Fires affected Tahoe
“I’m assuming the South Shore Lake Tahoe plunge (down 20.6 percent to $14.4 million in November) can be attributed in part to the late October fire and to it not quite being ski season,” Lawton said. “South Shore Lake Tahoe is down 8.6 percent over the last three months and this month continued a downward trend for the market.”
For the first five months of the 2024-25 fiscal year, gaming win is down 2.9 percent statewide to $6.38 billion. But Lawton said for the calendar year, it’s up just 0.4 percent.
Nevada continued to record gaming win amounts in excess of pre-pandemic levels for the month. Statewide total win was 40.4 percent — $378.8 million over November 2019. The month also represented the 45th consecutive month that the state has recorded more than $1 billion in monthly gaming win.
Three other submarkets had double-digit percentage declines in November, including the Boulder Strip, down 20.6 percent to $66.2 million, Laughlin, down 15.5 percent to $34.1 million, and Reno, down 10.5 percent to $51.9 million. Downtown Las Vegas trailed last year by 2.7 percent to $79 million.
Although the F1 race wasn’t as robust as the previous year, there were other events that drew crowds to the city.
Adele performed her final eight shows at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace for several dates beginning on Nov. 1-23. The Eagles continued their residency at the Sphere on Nov. 1-9. Allegiant Stadium hosted a Billy Joel and Sting concert Nov. 9. Usher played two nights at the T-Mobile Arena on Nov. 15-16. The Las Vegas Raiders played a home game at Allegiant Stadium on Nov. 24 against the Denver Broncos.
Most categories down
Every casino game category except sports wagering was down on the Strip in November with some of that due to tough comparisons from last year.
Strip slot win decreased 2.7 percent despite a 5.6 percent increase in coin-in thanks to hold dropping from 8.3 percent last year to 7.6 percent in 2024.
Table game win and drop fell 5.1 percent and 8.7 percent, respectively, despite hold surging from 15 percent to 15.6 percent.
Baccarat win was off 18.3 percent with volume down 8.7 percent. Casino hold percentage was 17 percent compared with 19 percent a year ago.
But casinos played luckier than players in sports betting on the Strip with a win of $24.4 million, up 41.6 percent despite volume being down 11.8 percent. Casino hold was 6.3 percent compared with 3.9 percent last year.
Joe Greff, a gaming industry analyst with New York-based JP Morgan, said slot machine revenue may not be as bad as it appears because of the timing of collections.
“Because November ended on a weekend, slot win for Saturday, Nov. 30, will be reported in December results, understating November 2024 slot revenue, a quirk in Nevada reporting with slot handle, table drop and table win unaffected,” Greff said. “There was no such impact in 2023, while November 2019 had a similar impact.”
Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on X.