August: Hot on the Strip

Boy, did the house win big last August. Las Vegas Strip gambling revenues were up 20%, driven by exceptionally lucky baccarat play (win up 55.5%), in a month when 1.5% less was wagered on the game. (A modest increase in visitors didn’t hurt. Conventions were way down but tourism more than made up the slack.) The volume of money wagered on non-baccarat table games was up 10% and players lost 22% more than last year. Despite an increase in coin-in, slot revenues were flat. This bounty did not extend to off-Strip casinos, where revenue was down 4.5%. Laughlin had a good month, up 6%, but Downtown, did not, falling 8%. Nor did North Las Vegas (-18%) or the Boulder Strip (-13%). Lake Tahoe stumbled a bit (-3%) but Reno was up 10%, praise be.