A big decrease on the Strip drove statewide gaming revenue down nearly 3 percent in January, but the rest of Southern Nevada generally had a better month, the state reported today.
The Gaming Control Board said Nevada’s gaming revenue was $925.3 million in January, down 2.87 percent from last year. For the fiscal year, which began July 1, statewide gaming revenue is up 0.59 percent.
On the Strip, by far the largest gaming market in the state, revenue fell 7.72 percent to $532.3 million. Baccarat revenue there declined 26.3 percent to $101.4 million and total table games and sports book revenue was down 14.46 percent. Slot machine revenue, meanwhile, grew only 0.67 percent to $258.5 million.
Those declines came despite some big events in January, notably New Year’s and the CES technology show — both of which reliably draw large numbers of visitors to the Strip every year. But Michael Lawton, senior research analyst for the gaming board, said there were some major events in January 2015 that were not repeated this year, including an additional UFC fight and a championship boxing match.
“I think the event calendar was heavier last January,” Lawton said. Plus, he noted, the Super Bowl last year was Feb. 1, meaning the buildup to it happened at the end of January, driving a lot of gaming revenue then. This year, the Super Bowl was played Feb. 7.
The rest of Clark County fared far better that the Strip did in January.
In downtown Las Vegas, casinos won $42.1 million, an increase of 8.83 percent from January 2015. Slot machine revenue grew 17.37 percent year over year.
Casinos in North Las Vegas won $22.8 million for the month, up 10.57 percent from the year before. And Laughlin, the Boulder Strip and Mesquite reported year-over-year increases of 6.92 percent, 16.09 percent and 1.81 percent, respectively.
Overall, Clark County’s gaming revenue dropped 3.3 percent to $810.5 million.
The situation up north, meanwhile, was mixed.
Washoe County gaming revenue dropped 1.87 percent to $58.8 million, as revenue in Reno declined 2.64 percent to $42.6 million. Sparks gaming revenue also fell 2.98 percent, but North Lake Tahoe saw its revenue grow 22.35 percent from January 2015.
In South Lake Tahoe, gaming revenue rose 9.22 percent.
The state said it collected $81.7 million in taxes on January’s revenue, up 19.59 percent from the same month last year.