Nevada´s $1 Billion Gaming Revenue Streak Reaches 18 Months

According to the Nevada Gaming Control Board, Nevada collected $1.2 billion from its casinos in August, up 26.7% over the same month in 2019. The industry quickly recovered from the pandemic-induced recession in 2020 and is holding steady as gaming revenue was up 3.5% compared to August 2021.

Casinos on The Las Vegas Strip collected $660 million, a 5.2% increase from last August. “The Strip is carrying the load,” says Michael Lawton, senior economic analyst at the Nevada Gaming Control Board.

After a four-month downturn, the markets outside of The Strip are back up. With monthly revenue decreases between April and July, Nevada’s other gambling jurisdictions grew slightly in August by 1.6%.

Slot machines did the most work for the state by bringing in $847.1 million, a 2.5% increase from last year. Gamblers lost $361.4 million at table, counter and card games, a 6% increase. Baccarat came in third with $96.7 million, a 4% increase, while sportsbooks collected $16.1 million, up 12%, and mobile sports betting brought in $9.9 million.

August came in about $100 million down from July, when the state rang up $1.3 billion in gaming revenue—up 28.4% from pre-Covid-19 levels in July 2019. But August is usually slower, partly due to the extreme heat. According to the Nevada Gaming Control Board, August gambling revenue is typically down about 9% compared with July. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority reported that 3.2 million people came to Sin City in August, a 6.4% increase over last year. But visitor volume to the gambling hub is down 11% compared with pre-pandemic levels in 2019.

As the economy heads towards a recession, Lawton says Nevada has a nice buffer thanks to all the growth it has experienced during the rebound. If gambling revenue drops 10% Nevada will still be above pre-pandemic levels. “We would have to fall off a significant cliff to be lower than 2019 levels,” says Lawton. “We’re hoping if there is a downturn, it’s not dramatic. If we see a 10% drop off, we would still have extremely good numbers.”

While domestic leisure travelers have helped Nevada surpass pre-pandemic levels, international and business travel are both still down compared to 2019. This means that there is room to grow.

Nevada is on pace to beat its record of $13.4 billion in annual gambling revenue it collected in 2021. Through August, Nevada collected $9.8 billion, a 14% increase compared to the same time last year. “We have four more months, and we’re 14% above an all-time record,” says Lawton.

Nevada’s streak will come to an end, but the question is when. Hitting $1 billion in gambling revenue each month through the rest of the year is likely. “That’s the million-dollar question,” says Lawton. “But when I look out there, I like what I see. I don’t see an imminent drop-off. There’s no softness on the horizon.”