Monthly casino revenue totals in Nevada turned positive for the first time in 2019, but the state still has some catching up to do if the gaming industry hopes to surpass its 2018 results.
Still, analysts were pleased that June’s statewide gaming revenue total of $1.04 billion was an all-time revenue record for the month, fueled by an outsized result from baccarat, which recorded its highest hold percentage in 15 years.
“Who needs high end volume when you have these players?” Deutsche Bank gaming analyst Carlo Santarelli told investors.
The Gaming Control Board said Tuesday that June’s revenues were an 11.6 percent increase from a year ago. However, because gaming revenue had declined each month between January and May, statewide figures year-to-date are still 0.2 percent below 2018’s total.
On the Las Vegas Strip, which accounted for almost 60 percent of the state’s overall figure, casino revenues increased 17.7 percent to $616.6 million during the month. Strip gaming revenues had declined every month since last December.
Through June, Strip gaming numbers are down 1.4 percent for the calendar year.
Baccarat revenues drove both the state and the Strip’s overall results. Revenues from baccarat grew 114.3 percent to $157.9 million. Wagering on baccarat increased 19.5 percent to $762.5 million.
Control Board Senior Research Analyst Michael Lawton said the underlying factor was hold percentage. Casinos held 20.7 percent of all wagers on the game, which is significantly higher than normal, which averaged out to 12 percent over the last year and far above June 2018’s hold percentage of 11.55 percent. Lawton said the June 2019 hold percentage was the highest figure since January 2004.
Santarelli said if the baccarat hold percentage was normalized, Strip gaming revenues would have increased 5 percent during the month.
Meanwhile, slot machine revenues were also a contributing component to the month. Revenues grew 7.3 percent to $634.3 million. Slot machine revenues have recorded only one decrease statewide over the last 10 months and is up 2.4 percent over the calendar year-to-date.
Macquarie Securities gaming analyst Chad Beynon said the Strip performance could continue into the second half of the year, due to “positive event and convention business.”
All reporting areas in Southern Nevada had a strong June. Downtown Las Vegas casinos grew revenues 18.6 percent, while North Las Vegas was up 13 percent. Revenues from casinos along the Boulder Strip were up 9.5 percent in the month, while the balance of Clark County was up 3 percent.
Stifel gaming analyst Steve Wieczynski told investors the setup in the Las Vegas locals market points toward a “relatively healthy local economy and a stable supply outlook.” Beynon said non-Las Vegas Strip regions “continue to benefit from strong population growth, taxable sales increases and higher home values.”
Las Vegas tourism numbers
Las Vegas tourism numbers also jumped during June, with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority reporting more than 3.6 million visitors in the month, an increase of 1.2 percent from a year ago. The agency said Las Vegas hosted 514,000 convention attendees during the month, a year-over-year increase of 2.7 percent.
The city’s average hotel occupancy was 91.7 percent in June with an average daily room rate of $120.43, a 3.5 percent increase from a year ago. Revenue per available room rose 4.7 percent to $110.43, the LVCVA said.
Reno-Lake Tahoe
Northern Nevada’s gaming market, however, didn’t fare as well as the south. Reno gaming revenues declined 14 percent, with Washoe County as a whole down 10 percent. North Lake Tahoe casinos saw gaming revenues dip 4 percent and South Lake Tahoe’s gaming market was down 12 percent.
Lawton said Washoe County was facing a “difficult comparison” because June 2018 were up 15.8 percent. The region’s volumes were also down due to tough comparisons.
“Additionally, last June, Reno benefited from the USBC Women Bowlers Tournament, which was not a factor this June as the event was held elsewhere,” Lawton said.
Through June, Washoe County gaming figures are down 2.5 percent compared to a year ago.
Sports betting
New Jersey’s sports wagering dominance over Nevada lasted all of one month.
Nevada sportsbooks took in $321.8 million in wagers during June, an increase of 12 percent from a year ago and an all-time record for the month. The figure beat New Jersey’s $273.2 million in total sports bets for June.
In May, New Jersey took in roughly $1 million more in total sports wagers than Nevada, the first time the Garden State had won the mythical head-to-head sports pool competition between the states since the activity was legalized in New Jersey a year ago.
Nevada sportsbooks, however, saw overall revenues from sports betting decline 18.1 percent to $16.6 million, due largely to a nearly 2 percent decline in hold percentage.
Fiscal 2019
The Control Board also released figures for the state’s 2019 fiscal year, which ended in June. Statewide, Nevada gaming revenues hit $11.9 billion, a less than 1 percent decrease from a year ago. The Control Board said Nevada casinos grew revenues 3.2 percent in fiscal 2018. The average annual fiscal year growth rate for the state’s casino industry over the last 10 years is 1 percent.
The Las Vegas Strip had total gaming revenues of $6.5 billion in fiscal 2019, a decline of less than 1 percent from the previous fiscal year. Reno’s fiscal 2019 gaming revenues of $626.6 million also reflected a less than 1 percent decline from a year ago.
Howard Stutz is the executive editor of CDC Gaming Reports. He can be reached at hstutz@cdcgamingreports.com. Follow @howardstutz on Twitter.
