In October, Nevada casinos won more money оn their slot machines than ever іn a single month. The house’s good fortune оn the one-armed bandits, however, wasn’t enough tо overcome year-over-year losses оn certain table games and football betting.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board’s (NGCB) October revenue report shows that slot machines at the state’s 315 licensed facilities won more than $932.3 million іn October. That’s a 4.2% gain оn October 2023 and the highest monthly slot haul іn state history.
Gross gaming revenue (GGR) from table games and sports betting toppled almost 16%, however, to more than offset the unprecedented slot result. Though blackjack win was up 2% from a year ago to $116.3 million and craps climbed 3% to $41.5 million, revenue from roulette dropped 30% to just $24.2 million. Baccarat, the game of choice among Asian high rollers, slowed 23% to $69.1 million.
Revenue from three-card poker, mini-baccarat, keno, and pai gow was also lower. Oddsmakers additionally suffered, largely because of football. Sportsbook win of $28.9 million represented a 58% year-over-year fumble.
Statewide casino cash slot revenue of $1.286 billion was 2% lower than in October 2023, but it marked the 44th consecutive month where gaming win was upwards of $1 billion.
Gamblers Got Lucky In October
October marked the third time in four months that Nevada casino revenue was lower than in the same month in 2023. Las Vegas Strip revenue fell more than 3% to $692 million to mark the Strip’s fourth straight monthly revenue year-over-year decline.
2023 has presented difficult comparisons, as Nevada casinos won a record $15.5 billion. Michael Lawton, the NGCB’s senior economic analyst, said in a release that there were enough gamblers in Nevada and Las Vegas to surpass the October 2023 tally, but casinos experienced less luck.
“The level of play was there. Unfortunately, the games didn’t hold compared to last October, especially baccarat, football wagering, and roulette,” said Lawton. “I am encouraged by slot win, which set a new all-time record for monthly win on volumes that were up a solid 3.6%. Additionally, table games play remains healthy, but continues to face difficult comparisons on the hold side.”
While the number of premium players and high rollers in town might have been adequate to outpace October 2023’s casino revenue, visitation statistics show that overall traffic in Southern Nevada decelerated last month.
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) said visitor volume slowed 1.8% to 3.56 million people. Convention attendance, down almost 13% to just 559K people, was the culprit.
Officials at Harry Reid International said the airport served almost 5.3 million arriving and departing passengers. That represented a 3.5% decline.
Upward Battle
Through 10 months, 2024 GGR in Nevada totaled a little over $12.82 billion. For the Nevada gaming industry to post its fourth consecutive year of record revenue, GGR will need to exceed $2.7 billion in November and December.
Nevada isn’t alone in seeing brick-and-mortar gaming win slow in 2024.
Through three quarters, revenue from legacy play was lower in Iowa, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. New Jersey and Pennsylvania are the second and third richest brick-and-mortar commercial gaming states behind Nevada.