For Nevada’s casino industry, 2019 is turning into a tale of two chapters.
Gaming revenues statewide rose 4.3% in August according to a report released by the Gaming Control Board Friday. The raw total – more than $952.4 million – marked the state’s third straight monthly increase following five consecutive months of decline.
However, August ended two straight months of statewide revenues topping the $1 billion mark.
The state’s major gaming markets reported increases during August. The Las Vegas Strip was up 8.95% on gaming revenues of $520.6 million and Reno was up 4.66% on revenues of $64.6 million.
Three straight months of gaming revenue increases pushed the Strip into positive territory for 2019, which is now up 0.1% through August compared to a year ago. Nevada as a whole is up 0.7% through August. Washoe County, which includes Reno and North Lake Tahoe, is down 1.2 percent.
“The Strip was the driver for this month’s statewide increase,” said Gaming Control Board Senior Research Analyst Michael Lawton. “This was the result of strong non-baccarat game and table play which benefited from increased volumes and significant increases to hold percentages.”
Strip gaming results were helped by a 17.4% increase in total table game revenues, which included a 29.2% increase in blackjack revenues, a 67.3% jump in craps and a 43.3% hike in roulette.
High-end baccarat play, which typically drives Strip gaming results, saw revenues increase 6% to $97.6 million, although wagering was down 7.2%.
Strip casinos also continued to experience a strong slot machine market. Revenues grew 1.6% and the amount wagered grew 5.2%. In the first eight months of 2019, the Strip has seen just one decline in slot machine volume.
“While gross gaming revenue is faced with an easy comparison from the slump last summer, commentary and our checks point to underlying strength on the non-VIP side of the business,” Macquarie Securities gaming analyst Chad Beynon told investors.
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority said tourism volume in Las Vegas rose 0.7% in August to nearly 3.58 million visitors.
LVCVA Director of Research Scott Russell said the numbers were driven by one extra weekend day and “healthy occupancy on a larger room base.”
Convention attendance during August rose 1.7% to 657,800 convention delegates.
Citywide occupancy of 87.7% matched last August while average daily room rate increased 4.6% to $120.96. Revenue per available room grew 4.6% to $106.08.
Statewide, casinos collected $18.7 million in revenues from sports betting, an increase of 48.7%. Wagering on sports grew 16.1% to $287.8 million.
Stifel gaming analyst Steven Wieczynski was bullish on the Reno gaming market’s intermediate-to-longer-term prospects. The numbers from Reno were up for the second straight month.
“We believe ongoing capital investment, business relocation from California and the resulting population growth should create a market capable of delivering superior gross gaming growth as compared to the U.S. regional average,” Wieczynski said.
The figures provided by the state are results before taxes, fees and other items are deducted.
Howard Stutz is the executive editor of CDC Gaming Reports. He can be reached at hstutz@cdcgamingreports.com. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.
