99.4% decline: Nevada gaming revenue totals $5.8 million in May

June 30, 2020 3:50 PM
  • Howard Stutz, CDC Gaming Reports
June 30, 2020 3:50 PM
  • Howard Stutz, CDC Gaming Reports

April was bad. May was an improvement, but not by much.

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Nevada’s second full month of closed casinos due to the coronavirus pandemic led to just $5.8 million in gaming revenues for May, according to a report released by the Gaming Control Board Tuesday. A year ago, Nevada casinos collected almost $981.8 million, which means gaming numbers statewide fell 99.4%.

The Las Vegas Strip accounted for almost $3.8 million of the total, a decline of 99.3% compared to $517.3 million in revenue last May.

The total gaming revenue consisted of funds from Internet poker and mobile sports wagering. Casinos, which closed on March 18 as COVID-19 began to spread, accounted for zero revenues for the second straight month. Five reporting markets – including Reno and Laughlin – actually reported negative figures.

Gaming Control Board Senior Research Analyst Michael Lawton said the $84,460 loss in the month by Reno casinos was due to mobile sports wagering.

In other markets, downtown Las Vegas revenues fell 96.45 to just $1.9 million while South Lake Tahoe casinos collected just $17,457 in gaming revenue, a decline of 99.9%.

In April, gaming revenues statewide totaled $3.64 million. So, on the bright side, May was a nearly 63% increase over April.

For the first five months of 2020, Nevada gaming revenues are down almost 45.2%, the Strip is down 44.8%, and Northern Nevada’s Washoe County, which includes Reno, is down nearly 47.2%.

The state collected just $56,000 in taxes based on May revenues, down 99.9% compared with a year ago. For the fiscal year, which ended June 30, the state’s gaming tax collections were down 15.55%.

Nevada casinos reopened on June 4, but under COVID-19 health, safety, cleaning, and social distancing protocols. Capacity limits are in place along with a reduced number of slot machines and table game seats to provide spacing between players.

Less than half the Strip resorts restarted their gaming operations on June 4, but other properties have since reopened. MGM Resorts International is reopening Aria and Mandalay Bay on Wednesday. However, several properties have said workers tested positive for COVID-19. The Culinary Workers Union, which represents some 60,000 Strip and downtown non-gaming employees, filed a lawsuit Monday over employee safety conditions.

The Avi Casino in Laughlin, which is operated by the Fort Mohave Indian tribe, closed Monday due to several casinos of COVID-19 among its workforce.

Howard Stutz is the executive editor of CDC Gaming Reports. He can be reached at hstutz@cdcgaming.com. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.