What Is the Average Gambling Budget for Las Vegas Visitors?

My husband and I travel a bit, having homes in Massachusetts and Florida. We drive and stay at casinos in Atlantic City, Tunica, and Biloxi, always making a vacation of it. We also fly to Vegas/Laughlin once or twice per year. I usually allocate $100/day for gambling. What do most gamblers spend? It’s easy to sit at a $5 table and blow my wad in minutes, yet around me folks are spending hundreds of dollars. Any clue what the average is?

According to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitor Authority Visitor Profile Study (which we cited in a recent question about first-timers), visitors to Las Vegas had an average gambling budget in 2016 of $619.01, up from

$484.70 in 2012

$529.57 in 2013

$530.11 in 2014

and $578.54 in 2015

In addition, 69% of all visitors said they gambled while in Las Vegas, down from 72% in 2012 and 73% last year. And the average amount of time spent gambling per day was 1.9 hours, down from 2.9 hours each in 2013 and 2015.

We ran a poll on the question in 2008 (looks like it’s time for a new one) that found the LVCVA numbers to be quite low. Certainly, our poll was structured and administered differently than the Visitor Profile Study, but some reasonable comparisons can be made.

While our poll wasn’t structured to pinpoint an average, we were able to rough one out and it came to about $1,750 per person. That’s a lot of coin, especially compared to the VPS’ $480-$620. But we weren’t surprised by our number and the major difference with theirs. After all, the VPS surveys 3,600 random visitors, while LVA subscribers, according to our own demographics, are much more frequent players.

No part of this answer may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without the written permission of the publisher.

Have a question that hasn't been answered? Email us with your suggestion.

Missed a Question of the Day?

Have a Question?

Tomorrow's Question

Will there ever be sports books or betting kiosks in airports?

Comments

Jenny Knipfer Nov-09-2017

Gambling Budget

So your numbers make better sense to me.  My husband and I allot $500 a day per person to gamble, regardless of number of days.  Some days taht is plenty, other days, well....you know how it goes.  Most of the time, we are taking a portion of our bankroll home.  We also gamble from sun-up to sun-down, except to eat.  We dont do the shows, so we pretty much are at the tables all day and night......

Ray Nov-09-2017

Gambling Budget

It seems to me that a more indicative answer might be what the questioner was talking about, budget per day. And the other direction might be yearly budget. People who go to the various casino destinations several times a year may budget less per trip than those who only go once or twice a year and save up for the gambling binge.

jeepbeer Nov-09-2017

Gambling Budget

per day makes more sense to me too.  and does that budget include free play and/or cash back earned during that trip?

Mark Elslager Nov-09-2017

Follow it up

I usualy budget $500 per day.  If it's down then the next day I'll add to it up to $500. If it's up I take away the over and put it in the safe, that amount goes home.  I also have a gambling technique so that I don't loose the whole $500.  But that's another story for another day. Been going since '94 and I'm up $365. Mostly VP and Craps.

Question of the Day - 09 November 2017

Comments