Strip buoyant, locals flat

Casinos on the Las Vegas Strip won $660 million last month, a 5% bump over last year, as business continues to trend well into 2023. (It was also up a whopping 27% over 2019.) Strip numbers also benefited—although locals ones did not—from July having ended on a Sunday, meaning last-minute slot winnings were rolled into August. Strip slot win, $381 million, rose 6% on 11% more coin-in on an 8% hold. Table games yielded $186.5 million, also up 6% despite 5.5% lower wagering. Baccarat play eked up 2% for 1% more house win. Locals play stayed on an even keel ($250 million) with the year before, but was a sky-high +41% over pre-pandemic 2019.

Downtown exemplified the flatness, with $64.5 million, while North Las Vegas was the same, with $23 million. The Boulder Strip slipped 3% to $88.5 million and Laughlin tumbled 12% to $36 million. Mesquite, however, rebounded 9% to $13.5 million. Miscellaneous Clark County inched up 2% to $138.5 million. Another Utah-facing market, Wendover, had a very good month, jumping 14% to $21 million. Looking to the west, Reno was up 2.5% to $67 million while the debut of Legends Bay Casino seems to have lifted Sparks 4% to $14.5 million. Lake Tahoe had the best month of all, vaulting 27% to $30 million. We’re scheduled to be discussing some of these numbers on Friday’s State of Nevada on KNPR, so please tune in.

Quote of the Day: “If you do nothing unexpected, nothing unexpected happens.”—author Fay Weldon