Led by a strong month in the state’s major casino markets, Nevada gaming revenue rose 1.5 percent in September, the state reported today.
The Gaming Control Board said casinos won $916.4 million last month compared to $902.6 in September 2014. Statewide, baccarat revenue grew 21.6 percent to $100.7 million, which is only the third time this year that the game has reported a revenue increase from 2014.
Revenue from baccarat, a game popular among Chinese high rollers, has for the most part performed poorly over the last year. That appears to have been a spillover from ongoing struggles in Macau, where the Chinese government’s corruption crackdown and a slowing economy have hit casino revenues hard.
Now, however, the year-over-year comparisons have become easier because Nevada started feeling the impact of the problems in China last fall, according to Michael Lawton, senior research analyst for the gaming board.
“We’re in a good phase now where we’re kind of comparing apples to apples,” he said.
Still, Lawton said, it remains unclear where the baccarat market is headed in Nevada.
Meanwhile, statewide slot revenue fell 1.8 percent to $572.4 million. Lawton attributed the drop to an anomaly in the timing of collections from last year.
Most of Clark County had a good month, with countywide gaming revenue rising 1.3 percent from last year to $780.4 million.
On the Strip, the state’s largest market, gaming revenue grew 2 percent to $504.8 million. Revenue from baccarat there increased 23.3 percent.
Downtown Las Vegas had an even better month compared to last year: Gaming revenue there shot up 9.3 percent to $47.5 million.
Lawton said downtown benefitted from the fact that the entire Labor Day weekend occurred in September this year, whereas last year it was partly in August.
The Life is Beautiful music festival also helped downtown, Lawton said. This year’s festival was held on the streets of downtown in September instead of October.
Elsewhere in Clark County, Laughlin reported a strong gaming revenue increase of 7.9 percent. But North Las Vegas, the Boulder Strip and Mesquite saw gaming revenue decreases of 7.3 percent, 5.5 percent and 1.7 percent, respectively.
Washoe County’s gaming revenue for the month was $71.4 million, up 8.1 percent from last year.
Reno brought in $52.9 million, an increase of 9.1 percent.
South Lake Tahoe faced the most substantial year-over-year decline in September. Gaming revenue there dropped 10.7 percent to $21.2 million.
The state collected $58.1 million in taxes on September’s winnings, a 12.2 percent decrease from a year earlier.