Big January for the Strip; Mega-jottings

January was very good for the Las Vegas Strip, up 7.5% to $572 million. Baccarat played a big role, with winnings up 16% on 24% greater wagering. (In fairness, January 2019 was terrible for baccarat.) Other table games didn’t do too badly, up 5.5% (despite 31% more wagering) and while coin-in at the slots rose 11%, casinos just won 5%, thanks in part to looser hold. February should be easy pickings for the Strip, coming off a 2019 that was 2% and in which the house got its clock cleaned at baccarat (-26%). Speaking of slot win, some of that at Las Vegas locals casinos may have been rolled into February reporting. Otherwise it’s hard to account for a 2% diminution in locals-casino revenue. Coin-in was 3% but slot win 4% less. At least as far as the Strip was concerned, an extra weekend day didn’t hurt.

On the Strip visitation was up 4%, convention attendance grew 5% and room revenues were 2% higher despite rates dipping 2%. Downtown, firmly on the comeback trail, rocketed up 13.5%, for a $59 million gross. North Las Vegas took a 9% hit, grossing $26.5 million, while the Boulder Strip tumbled 12% to $72 million. (One hopes February will be better because locals-casino revenues are the canary in the Vegas coal mine.) At least miscellaneous Clark County was robust, up 8% to $115.5 million. Laughlin was flat at $47 million but snowbirds came out to play in Reno and Lake Tahoe. The former rose 7.5% to $47.5 million while the latter shot up 18% to $20 million. Elko gained 7% to $25 million but Carson Valley ceded 2% to $9 million. As far as Nevada as a whole, that reliable economic barometer, Wendover, vaulted 12% (to $2 million), atop an 8.5% jump last year. Slots drove the bus, zooming 13.5%. As Wendover goes, so goes the Silver State.

In related news, McCarran International Airport notched its 11th straight month of four million-plus passengers arriving or departing. Some 4,154,165 souls passed through McCarran, a 6.5% increase from last January. The strongest growth (7%) was in domestic, with international passengers numbering 309,091, a 3% bump. Southwest Airlines dominated the market, despite losing 7% of its share, as Delta (+13%), Spirit (+12%), American (+8%) and United (+7%) all took up the slack.

* Anybody remember short-lived Margaritaville Casino in Biloxi? Probably not. Well, it will soon be back with a decidedly less-mellow brand. Rock group Kiss is going in on a $200 million rebrand of the property. The 200 mil question is whether access issues that killed Margaritaville have been solved.

Jottings: Caesars Rewards is being remade in the image of Eldorado Resorts‘ Club One program, at least at non-Vegas properties. We don’t have much information at this point but there will be five tiers and the top one is by invitation only … China is revoking the passports of citizens alleged to have traveled to the Philippines to work in the online-gaming industry. The cancellations reportedly fall upon those currently working in ‘POGO’ centers, meaning they’ll have a hard time getting home … The Downtown Grand has topped off its new, third hotel tower. We’re always glad to see the Grand doing well … Harrah’s Metropolis (left) lost two business days (including a Sunday) to rising flood waters. It has now reopened … If you had money with British online bookie MoPlay, tough luck. The sports book has declared insolvency and ceased processing withdrawals … MGM Resorts International is being sued over the data breach that led to information on over 10.5 million customers being revealed. Former patron John Smallman has filed the litigation and we expect there will be others … The merger between Flutter Entertainment and The Stars Group has been approved in Australia. TSG has also invested $40 million into establishing its relationship with Fox Bet … Finally, as a service to our readers, here’s how you know if you’ve got coronavirus (which continues to roil stock markets) and how to treat it.