[toc]Nevada gaming may not have had a great December last year, but both the fourth quarter and the entire year saw revenues on the rise.
The latest gambling revenue report from the Nevada Gaming Control Board.
The report provided numbers for December of last year, fourth quarter numbers, and insight into how the state performed as a whole in 2016.
2016 Nevada gambling revenue
Last year the Silver State took in $11.25 billion in gambling revenue. This represents an uptick of almost 1.5 percent from 2015.
Table games revenue was relatively even between 2015 and 2016. Slots revenue rose by 2.5 percent. As a result, slots comprised roughly 63 percent of total gambling revenue.
The area that sustained noticeable losses was the race and sports book. Wagering on basketball, baseball, and horse racing all saw declines ranging from seven to 27 percent last year.
Football was the only sport trending up, with a gain of 11 percent.
The Las Vegas Strip’s revenue stayed steady from 2015. Meanwhile, both Reno and Downtown Las Vegas saw bumps of a little over four percent.
The revenue staying steady year over year is par for the course in the state. The numbers have held steady since 2009.
2016 fourth quarter Nevada casino revenue
The fourth quarter financial figures bore a resemblance to the yearlong figures.
On the whole, gaming revenue was up 2.2 percent in the quarter compared to 2015. The entire state took in just over $2.8 billion to end the year.
Table games were strong with $1 billion in revenue and an uptick of 1.1 percent. Slots brought in almost $1.8 billion and saw a rise of 1.8 percent.
Sports betting is once again the low man on the totem pole. In the height of football season, the numbers were down from 2015’s fourth quarter by 8.1 percent.
With a popular World Series and a history-making win for the Chicago Cubs, baseball saw a massive surge over 2015. It was up an astonishing 283 percent.
Football was down compared to Q4 of 2015 by over 15 percent.
December 2016 Nevada gaming revenue
The final month of 2016 tends to be one of the slower ones in the casino industry. Such was the case last year. Nevada took in just shy of $951 million. This is a dip of 2.76 percent over 2015.
One bright spot is the sports betting market picked up compared to 2015 thanks to a bump of 67.4 percent in football betting activity.
Both slots and table games were down by margins of 1.9 percent and 3.4 percent, respectively. Slots generated around $407 million and table games took in $544 million.
In all three reports, the general takeaway seems to be the casino industry in Nevada is holding steady.
Keep in mind these numbers represent gambling revenue in an industry in which gaming is becoming less important and night clubs, restaurants, and other forms of entertainment are representing a bigger portion of casinos’ business models.
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