January a bumper month for Nevada sportsbooks
News on 1 Mar 2018
News on 1 Mar 2018
Figures released Wednesday by the Nevada Gaming Control Board show that despite a 2.1 percent year-over-year decline due to the timing of the Chinese new year, overall gambling revenues in the state topped the billion dollar benchmark at $1.02 billion.
Reporting the biggest decline over the month the Las Vegas Strip, posted January revenues down 8.9 percent at $554.8 million.
Mike Lawton, senior analyst with the control board, said that it was difficult to draw a balanced comparison with January 2016, when revenues were up 12.1 percent year-on-year. He noted that this January had one less weekend day, and the timing of the Chinese new year had changed, which ment fewer Asian visitors.
Reflecting this, game and table winnings, which include baccarat, were $359.5 million, a decrease of 10.5 percent when compared to January 2017. Baccarat winnings specifically were $113.2 million, down 28.3 percent, with volume decreasing to $715.7 million, a drop of 23.5 percent.
“If you remove baccarat from the equation, total win in the state would have increased by 2.7 percent or $23.6 million,” Lawton said.
Las Vegas saw its eighth consecutive monthly drop in visitation in January, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. Visitation dropped 3.3 percent to about 3.4 million. At the same time, McCarran International Airport saw its passenger count climb following a record year. About 3.8 million passengers went through the airport last month, a 2.7 percent increase compared to January 2017.
Gambling revenue at casinos in downtown Las Vegas increased 1.8 percent, bringing in about $56.6 million. Winnings also increased in Reno, up 13.9 percent to about $44.7 million, and at Stateline on the south shore of Lake Tahoe, up 14.9 percent to about $19.7 million.
Sports books were the star contributors in percentage terms, winning $25.1 million last month, an increase of 215.8 percent. The books won $7.8 million from football betting, which compares to an $8.4 million loss during January 2017.
The state benefited with about $68.7 million in percentage fees based on the taxable revenues generated in January. That’s a decrease of 8.8 percent compared to the same period last year.
