Comments (25) | Add a comment
Nevada gaming revenues decline 11.6 percent in October
Tools
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
Updated: Dec. 10, 2009 | 3:56 p.m.
Visitor numbers in Las Vegas increased for the second straight month, but that wasn't reflected in the revenues produced by casinos on the Strip and statewide.
Nevada as a whole fell to its lowest single-month gaming revenue total in almost six years.
Statewide gaming revenues were $800.3 million, an 11.6 percent decline compared with $904.9 million reported in the same month a year ago.
October marked the 22nd straight month of declining gaming revenues and was the lowest single-month figure since December 2003, when casinos collected $767.4 million.
Frank Streshley, chief of the tax and license division for the Gaming Control Board, which released the figures Thursday, said the month was disappointing because a year ago, casino revenues fell 22 percent statewide.
"Up to this month, based on comments from operators, we thought we were seeing some improvement," Streshley said. "We didn't think we hit bottom, but we didn't think the decline would be as sharp. We've actually fallen much further back."
On the Strip, casino revenues were $426.3 million, a 10.3 percent decline compared with $475 million reported a year ago.
The Strip numbers were supported by high-end baccarat play. October marked the sixth consecutive month of year-over-year growth in baccarat revenues. Gamblers wagered $702.3 million on baccarat, up 43.2 percent from a year ago. Casinos won $64.8 million from the game, a 62.4 percent increase compared with October 2008.
Susquehanna Financial Group gaming analyst Robert LaFleur told investors baccarat results benefited Wynn Las Vegas, The Venetian, Bellagio and a handful of other MGM Mirage properties that cater to high-end play.
"The 10.3 percent decline (on the Strip ) this month is an improvement from the last 12 months average of a drop of 13.5 percent," LaFleur said. He said the Strip decrease in October was larger than the percentage drops in September and August.
Baccarat win was offset by declining revenues from other table games on the Strip. Blackjack revenue was $48.3 million, down 38.3 percent; craps win was $21.8 million, down 10.7 percent; and roulette win was $17 million, down 15.2 percent.
Streshley said the hold percentage — money won by casinos versus the amount wagered — for all table games on the Strip was 10.37 percent in October, far below the normal average of 11.5 to 12 percent.
"It was well below normal, the lowest I've seen in quite a while," Streshley said.
JP Morgan gaming analyst Joe Greff told investors that if Strip casinos had recorded the normal percentages, the gaming revenue decline would have been just 4 percent.
Meanwhile, more than 3.15 million tourists came to Las Vegas during October, a 3.7 percent increase compared with slightly more than 3 million tourists in October 2008.
The increase in visitor volume follows a 4.3 percent jump in September, which had been the first monthly increase since May 2008.
Kevin Bagger, senior director of marketing for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, which released its numbers shortly after the control board released gaming revenues, said visitor volume had declined 10 percent a year ago.
The October 2009 numbers showed that visitors were coming but spending habits remained off.
"We're happy to see the increase in volume, but consumer spending is still impacted by the broader economy," Bagger said.
Strip room occupancy figures remained the highest of any city in the country, he said, despite a nearly 3 percent increase in the number of hotel rooms in Las Vegas from a year ago.
Room occupancy was 82.6 percent, off 1.2 percent, while Las Vegas has 141,489 rooms, which accounts for the opening of Encore, a new hotel tower at the Hard Rock, and some smaller room expansions.
The average daily room rate was down almost 14 percent in October.
For the first 10 months of 2009, gaming revenues are down 12.3 percent both statewide and on the Strip, while Las Vegas visitor volume is 30.6 million, down almost 4 percent from a year ago.
Convention attendance in Las Vegas declined 8.3 percent in October and is down almost 26 percent through the year.
In Clark County, gaming revenues fell 11.1 percent in October and double-digit declines were recorded in every reporting area accept the Boulder Strip, which was down 6.3 percent, and North Las Vegas, where gaming revenue increased 3.3 percent.
Streshley said the Las Vegas locals market would be the last area to recover because it is dependent on employment and a stable housing market. He didn't think either of which will return to normal levels until there is marked recovery on the Strip.
Contact reporter Howard Stutz at hstutz@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3871.
Trending topics:
Comments
Terms & Conditions
The following comments are provided by readers and are the sole responsiblity of the authors. The Review-Journal does not review comments before publication nor guarantee their accuracy. By publishing a comment here you agree to abide by the comment policy. If you see a comment that violates the policy, please use the Report Abuse button.
Some comments may not display immediately due to an automatic filter. These comments will be reviewed within 24 hours. Please do not submit a comment more than once.
Note: Comments made by reporters and editors of the Las Vegas Review-Journal are presented with a yellow background.
RSS
Twitter
Facebook
loqui- i thought i saw Obama at the Golden Nugget tightening up the machines and changing the odds on BlackJack also...
"Hey ibfromlv wrote on December 10, 2009 04:57 PM: Take a gander at my "hey curly bill post" where you will find the answers to the questions you are unable to fathom. Please read for comprehension."
The poster above suffers from Narcissistic Personality Disorder and imagines itself special with special wisdom -- so much smarter than everyone else posting here (and everyone else everywhere, for that matter).
So much smarter except for the other, very special person whom the poster identifies with and believes is on it's own level: Steve Wynn.
Take a gander at my "hey curly bill post" where you will find the answers to the questions you are unable to fathom.
Please read for comprehension.
RE: Brenda
Is not Nevada the live free or die bastion of libertarian values espoused in comments daily, where free markets and completely free reign competition and capital are king, to the winners go the spoils, no matter what the outcomes, and so forth (?)
What's wrong with a little competition from California? Those who comment daily often bash Californians, bad ol liberals they are! Californians have been coming to Vegas the past 18 years and dropping money to fuel the supply side Vegas, low tax economic model running one one engine that replicates itself over and over, only to wake up one year and be short of it themselves, largely because state leadership is hamstrung by constitutional amendments, ad valorem taxation is highly regressive, and they did spend a little too much on some things.
If Californians spend inside their own gaming properties, the money flows back into California state revenues, not Nevada. Maybe they are not so dumb after all, as some state.
Nevada can create competition and win in gaming competition with industry creativity (not just opulence at a price), leadership with skill sets, reasonable economic diversity, improving quality of life with better education outcomes and a more contributory-diverse tax structure.
All hard to understand because of education deficiencies and some traditional state leadership among a few who spin policies that are dated for today's economic realities.
Beyond that, times are tough with two wars, everyone has to buckle down a little more, how it is.
Today your paper reports visitor volume up 3.7 in October. You also report gaming revenue down 11.7 in October. Hardly logical. Are these increasing numbers of visitors stealing the gaming revenue, or do you or the folk who provide you these uninteresting and misleading statistics need to take some more math classes?
The other hotels waste all their time and money trying to attract the young & hip crowd that arrives here with no money to spend. No money to spend no profits no tips.
Or if you are Stations, you attract the down and outers with a $20 bill to spend. $20 players do not tip and Stations loves it because they get it all. Grind joints for the lowlifes.
Steve Wynn is the only guy turning a profit and yes he offers deals, to attract the kind of customers that have money to spend when they get here. In addition to that Wynn's level of service and entertainment are much better than the other hotels.
The other hotels waste all their time and money trying to attract the young & hip crowd that arrives here with no money to spend. No money to spend no profits no tips.