LV in June: The house lost big-time

Despite only a minor dip in visitation, Las Vegas casinos got hammered in June. Players kept their wallets shut and the cards weren’t turning in the house’s favor. The amount of money played on the Las Vegas Strip was off 7% from last year and revenues were down 10%. Baccarat play fell 17% and other table action was down 14%. Statewide revenue (-5%) looked good by comparison, as the month brought 2Q13 to a damp close. The Strip was off 2% for the quarter, the state in general, 1%. The fewbright spots for the industry included a 3% increase in Strip slot win, mostly driven by tighter machines, not by a miniscule increase in play. But Strip baccarat win plunged 49% (hold fell by more than a third) and other table win tumbled. Combine fewer players, smaller action and less win, and you have a perfect storm of economic negativity. Strip execs will be glad this month is behind them. The locals sector, which has been getting pounded, saw a 7% increase in win, while Boyd Gaming‘s revenues from locals action rose 6%. Deutsche Bank‘s Carlo Santarelli, in running the numbers, concludes that Boyd is taking (retaking?) market share from other operators. It was also the beneficiary of robust play in Downtown, where win rose 9%. J.P. Morgan‘s Joseph Greff notes that June ended on a Sunday, meaning that there is still-unreported slot revenue — perhaps as much as $8 million — which will soften the blow, when it’s reported a month from now. For all the volatility of the numbers, the Strip is on pace for a stolid, single-digit recovery this year.

Reno‘s 3% decline was actually not so bad, but nearby Lake Tahoe was the worst-performing market, down 24%. Laughlin grew a healthy 6% and North Las Vegas a robust 16%. One can only speculate on how strong the locals-market numbers might be if we weren’t lacking two days’ worth of slot data.