Study shows visitors have highest gambling budget in five years

While the percentage of travelers to Las Vegas who gamble continues to fall, those who play have the highest average gambling budget in five years.

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, in a recent Visitor Profile study, said the percentage of visitors who gambled fell to 71 percent in 2013. The percentage has steadily declined from the 83 percent reported in 2009.

But the gambling budget for a trip among those who played averaged $529.57 in 2013, up from $484.70 in 2012 and $481.57 in 2009.

The average number of hours per day a visitor gambles was up 2.9 from 2012’s 2.6, but down from 2009’s 3.2 hours.

The percentage of visitors who said they were “more likely” to visit Las Vegas despite more gambling options closer to their homes fell to a five-year low 24 percent, down from 25 percent in 2012 and 39 percent in 2009.

The gambling statistics were part of a comprehensive 103-page report that studied how often people visit Las Vegas, how long most of them stay, how much they spend on food, entertainment, transportation and shopping and their satisfaction with their visit.

The study was written by GLS Research and based on interviews with 3,600 randomly selected visitors, 300 per month from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2013. Visitors had to be at least 21 years old, not residents of Clark County and leaving within 24 hours to participate.

In general, visitors are younger, better educated and wealthier than they were five years ago. The percentage of married visitors — 79 percent — is about the same as it was in 2009.

The report said 88 percent had a household income of $40,000 or more compared with 83 percent in 2009. A visitor’s average age is 45.8 compared with 50 in 2009. The report said 58 percent of visitors are over 40 years old compared with 72 percent in 2009 and only 20 percent are retired compared with 28 percent five years ago.

The percentage of visitors from California and the West is about the same, but there’s been a steady increase in the number of international visitors. The report said 52 percent of those surveyed are from the West compared with 55 percent in 2009 and 33 percent were from California compared with 31 percent earlier. The number of visitors from a foreign country has grown steadily from 14 percent in 2009 to 20 percent in 2013.

The report said 47 percent of visitors had a college diploma in 2009 compared with 51 percent in 2013.

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