The Nevada Gaming Commission reported a monthly all-time high of $1.43 billion in statewide casino revenue for December on Wednesday, capping off a record-setting 2023 for the Silver State.

The strong closeout to 2023 meant casinos generated a record windfall of more than $15.5 billion in casino revenue for the calendar year. That was up nearly 4.6% from last year’s record of $14.8 billion. December revenue was 9% higher than the final month of 2022, fueled by an all-time high of $905.4 million worth of winnings coming from the Las Vegas Strip.

A busy December on the Strip that included U2’s continuing residency at The Sphere, the NBA playing their In-Season Tournament semifinals and finals at T-Mobile Arena, Garth Brooks resuming his residency at Caesars Palace, UFC 296, and the long-awaited grand opening of Fontainebleau all helped drive traffic to casino floors. Total drop from table games and slots on the Strip totaled more than $8.8 billion, a 7.7% increase that equals close to $628.5 million more wagered.

The $8.9 billion in operator revenue from The Strip was up 7.4% compared to last year as table game revenue was up 10.6% to nearly $4.09 billion. That outpaced the 4.9% increase in slot revenue to more than $4.81 billion.

Baccarat a key driver of table games revenue

Baccarat revenue for December reached more than $221.6 million statewide, up 49.7% from the final month of 2022. The win rate for the two-card game was a robust 21.9% in 2023, nearly 4.6 percentage points higher than 2022. Baccarat table drop topped $1 billion by nearly $14 million, 18.4% better than the $856.6 million wagered in December 2022.

Baccarat revenue was tops among table games at close to $1.49 billion, a 28.2% increase as it overtook blackjack for the top spot. Table drop for baccarat cleared $9 billion in 2023, up more than $1 billion from 2022 when it narrowly edged over $8 billion. The 16.4% win rate crafted by dealers was more than 1.7 percentage points better than 2022.

Blackjack was the only other table game to generate nine-figure revenue for December, though the $113.4 million in winnings was down 13.6% compared to 2022. Table drop for 21 was up 6.7% year-over-year to $834.4 million. but the 13.6% win rate was nearly 3.2 percentage points lower.

Sports betting ranked third in table, counter, and card games revenue with close to $59.1 million as the house edged over the 7% industry standard hold. The $481.3 million in sportsbook revenue for 2023 was an all-time yearly high in the post-PASPA era and an increase of 7.7% from 2022.

Craps revenue edged roulette for third among table games for both December and the full year. The dice game had a 13.1% increase in year-over-year revenue to nearly $46.7 million, while the $467.5 million in house winnings was up 4.6% from last year.

Roulette’s year-over-year gain for the calendar year shrank to 1.8% at $460.3 million as the $41.7 million in winnings to close out 2023 was down 0.5% versus 2022.

Slot players sought more variety in December

Interestingly, penny slots accounted for only 18.5% of the December casino slots winnings on the Strip with $82.3 million, but the $1.32 billion-plus claimed for 2023 was 27.5% of total slot revenue. Overall, penny slots provided the largest amount of revenue from a defined denomination at more than $3.15 billion, but that was also 12.2% lower compared to 2022.

The only category of slots to have year-over-year gains in Nevada were multi-denominational ones. Operator revenue from those machines surged 16.7% to more than $5.97 billion as the $92.9 billion drop was nearly $9.4 billion higher than 2022. The statewide win rate for multi-denominational slots was 6.4% in 2023, up three-tenths of a percentage point from the previous year.

Dollar slots ($638.1 million) and 25 cent slots ($219.9 million) were the other slot types to reach nine figures in revenue for 2023, though revenue from dollar slots was off 12% compared to last year, and quarter slots tailed off by 9%. Nickel slots were the closest to breaking even, with the $42.6 million in winnings down only 0.7% versus 2022.

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