The latest revenue report from the Nevada Gaming Control Board has revealed that the state’s post-pandemic recovery continues as casinos posted revenues of over $1 billion for the sixth month in a row.
August saw gaming operators win a combined total of $1.165 billion, up 22.3% on the same period in 2019 prior to pandemic shutdowns. August’s figure puts Nevada on track to hit the $12 billion annual revenue mark for only the fourth time in the state’s history. The last time Nevada’s casinos topped this figure was in 2019.
The Las Vegas Strip, which has trailed the state’s percentage totals for much of 2021, has recovered and is now less than 1% behind its 2019 figures. This is in large part thanks to a second straight month during which the Strip’s revenue was at least 20% above the figures for the same period in 2019.
This latest streak of over $1 billion per month in revenues started in March of this year and is the longest streak in 14 years when Nevada casinos collected over $1 billion per month from November 2006 to May 2007.
Although gaming revenues continue to impress, August’s total was a 14% drop on July’s figure of $1.36 billion.
Casinos on the Strip posted revenues of nearly $625.7 million, a 21% drop on August’s figure of $793.7 million. Casinos in Downtown Las Vegas recorded $64.2 million in revenues seeing the area mostly frequented by locals jump 23.2% for the calendar year in comparison to 2019.
Senior Economic Analyst for the Gaming Control Board Michael Lawton credited the reintroduction of live events in Las Vegas for the impressive revenue figures posted in August.
“Strong demand across markets, federal stimulus, the continued rebound of leisure travel and the return of special events and entertainment continued to propel gaming past 2019 levels,”
The events included the United States men’s football team playing Mexico in the 2021 CONACAF Gold Cup final on Aug. 1 at Allegiant Stadium, and two Cirque Du Soleil shows that returned to the Las Vegas Strip – Michael Jackson One at Mandalay Bay on Aug. 19 and The Beatles Love show at The Mirage on Aug. 26. Lawton also mentioned the fight between Manny Pacquiao and Yordenis Ugás at T-Mobile Arena on Aug. 21, and the live concert by rock group Guns N’ Roses at Allegiant Stadium on Aug. 27.
Baccarat didn’t have quite the same impact on revenue figures as it did in July with wagers on the game totaling $610.7 million, down 7% compared to August 2019. This resulted in revenues of $93.1 million down 5.6% on the same period in 2019.
Nevada sportsbooks accepted more than $427 million in wagers during the month resulting in revenues of $14.3 million. Although these figures were considerably less than those posted in August 2020, this was because the 2020 NBA Finals were delayed to August of last year.
Even though the state enjoyed an overall uptick in gaming revenues, sportsbooks revenues were down by 23.4% on the same period in August 2019 as the sportsbooks won just 3.35% of all wagers throughout the month.
However, for the first eight months of the year, sports betting revenues are still up by 57.4% while betting activity has also increased by 36.7% when compared to 2019.
Ciaran has been working within the Gambling Industry as a deep analyst since 2019. His deep knowledge and understanding of all the gambling regulations, and processes makes him a true asset, and an always valuable point of view for Gambling Industry News, allowing us to cover every topics from a brand new perspective.