Nevada July Numbers Suffer Fall But Still Hit $1.3 Billion

The Nevada Gaming Control Board’s latest report showed that the state’s gaming win plummeted by 15% in July, marking the first statewide decline in four months. This drop in performance was primarily driven by a significant decrease in gaming win on the Las Vegas Strip, which saw a 15% decline compared to the previous year.

Michael Lawton, the senior economic analyst for the Gaming Control Board, emphasized that the decline was not entirely unexpected. July 2024’s gaming win of $1.3 billion was compared to the exceptionally strong performance of July 2023, which saw the second-highest monthly win total in Nevada’s history.

Lawton further explained that the high hold rates in the volatile baccarat game, which reached 23.52% in July, contributed to the significant year-over-year decline. Additionally, the fact that there was one fewer weekend day in July 2023 compared to the previous year impacted the Strip’s performance more than the local casinos, as slot revenue from the last weekend in June flowed into the July report.

While the Las Vegas Strip experienced a downturn, other Nevada submarkets exhibited more positive trends. Downtown Las Vegas casinos saw a 9.9% increase in gaming win, and outlying Clark County, including the newly opened Durango casino, experienced a 19% surge. However, the Sparks area and Laughlin region saw declines, highlighting the volatility across different geographical segments of the state.

The decline in gaming win was accompanied by a slight dip in overall visitation to Las Vegas, as reported by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA). Convention attendance was down 6.9%, and other key tourism metrics, such as occupancy rates, average daily room rates, and total room nights occupied, also experienced minor decreases.