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Why was bingo discontinued on the Strip and is now only in local areas?
Bingo isn’t, by any measure, a big winner for the casinos. According to the Nevada Gaming Revenue Report, for the 12-month period ending March 31, 2022, the 21 bingo rooms in Clark County won $41.4 million. The only games that won less were Let It Ride ($18.6 million), live keno ($13.4 million), and pai gow ($5.9 million). Compare that to blackjack, which won $1.2 billion from 1,608 tables countywide.
Bingo rooms are, in fact, something of a loss leader, especially considering the amount of space they occupy. As an example, the bingo room at Palace Station (original name: Bingo Palace) hosts 307 seats. We couldn't find the square footage, but it's certainly the equivalent of a medium-sized banquet room. That kind of casino space on the Strip is much more valuable than in off-Strip properties.
In addition, bingo attracts the kind of player who can buy in for as little as a few dollars and receive an hour or so of entertainment. That doesn't interest the Strip megacasinos in the least.
On the other hand, the locals casinos hold between 12% and 24% of the bingo drop, depending on the percentage of players club benefits bingo players enjoy, and though they're low rollers to be sure, they’re also the type of regular gamblers who’re likely to play other games or grab a bite on the way in and out. So it's worth it to the locals joints to devote space to the bingo players.
Bingo is an excellent microcosm of the chasm that separates the market motives of the Strip and locals casinos.