April’s gaming numbers from Nevada were received with varying degrees of gloom. Not even a Manny Pacquiao fight could drive up the revenue figures, generally speaking. Baccarat, it goes without saying, was a different story, with 40% more revenue and 20% more wagers. Opined Stifel Nicolaus Capital Markets analyst Steven Wieczynski, “By and large, we suspect evidence of strong baccarat play disproportionately benefited the operators with established Asian sourcing channels.” (No shit!)
Otherwise, table game revenue and play on the Strip were flat. Deutsche Bank analyst Carlo Santarelli wrote that the baccarat result “masks [a] a core weakness,” pointing to “stagnant slot handle and non-baccarat table volumes.” J.P. Morgan analyst Joseph Greff countered that 2014’s 4% decrease was “a significant improvement from where trends stood two months ago.” One should hope so!
All other major Nevada gambling jurisdictions — Downtown (-3%), Laughlin (-4%), North Las Vegas (-2%), Boulder Strip (-3%), Lake Tahoe (-42%), etc. –
– were all down. More optimistic than Santarelli, Greff said he believes “the overall recovery will continue as 2014 progresses.” It’s difficult, however, to reconcile the ‘meh’ figures with a 3.5% increase in visitation. High occupancy — 96% on weekends — drove modest increases in ADRs and revenue per available room. Not even a reduction in the number of conventions (and conventioneers) could spoil the party. Drive-in tourism was up, too, 10% in Mesquite and 4% overall.
The gambling portion of the equation that is Las Vegas continues to rely on a shrinking pool of players who — fortunately — put more money on the green felt 
and into the slot hoppers. Last year, they spent on average $529.57, compared to $481.57 during the Great Recession. But 29% of Vegas visitors don’t gamble at all, significantly up from 2009. “Convenience gambling” has leeched the Vegas visitor base, with 24% unlikely to pass over local casinos in favor of Vegas, way down from 39% in 2009. The good news for casinos is that the average patron is younger and wealthier … no need to fear a “graying” of the player base. Whereas 72% of tourists were over 40 in 2009, now only 58% are. Better still, the number of international visitors continues to rise.
