Nevada gaming win sees slight dip in March, still surpasses $1B mark for 25th consecutive month
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Gaming win for Nevada casinos took a slight dip in March when compared to a year ago, according to latest figures posted by state gaming regulators. However, properties in the gambling mecca still managed to surpass the $1 billion mark, as non-restricted gaming licensees reported a win of $1.31 billion last month.
The total is about 3.2% down when compared to March 2022, when the gaming win was just under $1.36 billion, reports the Nevada Gaming Control Board. The income decline was propelled by the Las Vegas Strip, as casinos won about 3% less money on their slots and tables. Still, March marks the 25th consecutive month of casinos in the state surpassing $1 billion in win revenue.
While down from a year ago, Las Vegas Strip casinos posted a win of $724.6 million, which still implies over 55% of the state’s casino win. March usually draws large crowds to casinos around Las Vegas for the NCAA men's basketball tournament, one of the largest sports betting events of the year, but this was not enough to make up for a drop in table games revenue of about 14% to approximately $302.2 million.
In contrast, Downtown Las Vegas had a good month, and Fremont Street and the surrounding casinos in Las Vegas City saw a gross gaming revenue climb of 1% to $87.4 million. While slight, it is still meaningful taking into account increasingly tough comparisons.
The Gaming Control Board further noted the state collected $97.4 million in percentage fees based on the taxable revenue generated last month. This represents a 0.2% decrease compared to last April, when percentage fee collections were $97.6 million.
Michael Lawton, the NGCB’s senior economic analyst, noted comparables are becoming difficult as the state’s gaming industry experienced a rush of pent-up demand in the two years following pandemic-stricken 2020. Now, it’s becoming increasingly tough to keep up with numbers reported during those golden months.
Despite the 3% year-over-year setback, Lawton said the Nevada gaming industry remains healthy, highlighting that the $1.36 billion won in March 2022 was the state’s second-best month ever for gaming win, behind only July 2021. March 2022 experienced some pent-up demand from Omicron disruption in January and February.
At the same time, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) has also reported numbers for March. More than 3.65 million visitors came to Southern Nevada in March, a nearly 10% year-over-year increase. The spike was in part fueled by the ongoing return of convention business, as exhibition traffic surged 40% to 771,000 attendees.
And as for the Harry Reid International Airport, which is Las Vegas’ primary commercial airport, it served 16% more passengers in March 2023 than in March last year. This increase was led by international passengers, which surged 64%.
