Despite potential cash flow issues for Las Vegas casino operators, business in Nevada remains robust. The Silver State once again recorded over $1 billion in gaming revenue.
In a similar vein, Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas has also set a new monthly record for passengers. Concurrently, hotel room rates keep rising.
February Nevada gaming revenue up considerably
The Nevada Gaming Control Board’s monthly revenue report reveals that Nevada casinos made a profit of $1.24 billion in February, indicating an 11.15% rise compared to the previous year.
The gaming revenue has reached at least $1 billion for the 24th consecutive month. The significance of two consecutive years with a gaming revenue of at least $1 billion cannot be overstated.
The increase was once again aided by significant growth in Las Vegas, with casinos on the Vegas Strip alone contributing over $1 billion.
The Vegas Strip casino saw a 18.92% increase in gaming revenue in February, earning $1.08 billion, compared to the same period the previous year.
According to the same NGCB report, there was a 7.49% increase in gaming revenue in downtown Las Vegas. The monthly revenue report also unexpectedly showed an 8.77% revenue increase in North Las Vegas.
Interestingly, new neighborhood casinos opened in both sections of Las Vegas in February. The impact of Wildfire on Fremont and Ojos Locos Sports Cantina Y Casino on downtown Las Vegas and North Las Vegas’s gaming revenue respectively will be intriguing to monitor in the future.
Increases in gaming revenue in Southern Nevada have balanced out the decreases in the north. In February, Washoe County, which includes Reno and Lake Tahoe casinos, experienced a decline in gaming revenue by 8.08%.
The sole increase in Washoe county was exhibited by Sparks, partly attributed to the opening of Legends Bay Casino the previous summer.
Visitation to Las Vegas continues to grow
Since the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, visitation to Las Vegas has been gradually on the rise. Although there’s a significant increase in visitation compared to last year, it remains slightly lower than the pre-pandemic levels of 2019.
A monthly report from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority revealed that Las Vegas had 3.08 million visitors in February. This number is a 17.8% increase compared to the same period in 2022, however, it is a 3.4% decrease from 2019.
In February, 663,400 people visiting to attend conventions in Las Vegas significantly benefited the local businesses. This figure marked a 51.1% increase from the previous year.
Business travelers during the midweek are driving up the prices of hotel rooms. In February, the average hotel room rate was $176.64, marking an 18.1% increase from the previous year and a substantial 35.8% rise from 2019.
Despite the high prices, visitors are not deterred. In February, 82% of all hotel rooms in Las Vegas were occupied.
Weekend hotel room occupancy in Las Vegas saw a rise to 89.3%, thanks to leisure travelers. Surprisingly, this was a mere increase of 1.8% from the previous year.
A self-published report reveals that over four million passengers traveled through Harry Reid International Airport in February, marking the first time the airport has seen this level of traffic in the second month of the year.
The significant rise in airport traffic is largely due to international travelers visiting Las Vegas for Lunar New Year celebrations. Compared to February last year, the number of international passengers has surged by 125%.
Sports betting handle down, revenue up
Super Bowl betting typically boosts sports betting revenue in Nevada in February. This highly favored game from the most popular sport is usually the year’s most wagered-on event in the Silver State.
The Caesars and William Hill sportsbook apps experienced downtime during the Big Game this year, making it a slightly unusual year. The first revenue reports from the Super Bowl were not accurate, resulting in a lower reported win for Nevada sportsbooks than initially stated.
In February, Nevada sportsbooks saw a 15.6% decrease in the money wagered compared to the previous year when all their apps were working perfectly, with the amount falling to $659.4 million.
Sportsbooks in Nevada won more from bettors when the handle was down, accumulating a total of $43.1 million. This represented a substantial increase of 33.5% from the previous year’s winnings of Nevada sportsbooks.
Even with two apps experiencing an outage on Super Bowl Sunday, mobile devices were used for 61% of all sports bets in Nevada. This is just slightly lower than the 62% of sports bets placed on mobile devices in January, for context.
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