Posted on: October 29, 2024, 04:04h.
Last updated on: October 29, 2024, 04:04h.
Casino revenue on the Las Vegas Strip through nine months of the year is now down 0.2% after September marked the third consecutive monthly decline.
Baccarat caused trouble for casinos on the Las Vegas Strip in September 2024. The popular table game with Asian players has wreaked havoc on gaming revenue for three consecutive months. (Image: Resorts World)
On Tuesday, the Nevada Gaming Control Board released its monthly gross gaming revenue (GGR) report for September. While statewide win climbed over 3.3% to $1.31 billion, GGR on the Las Vegas Strip tumbled 1.8% to $727.6 million.
Once again, the culprit was baccarat.
The table game that’s popular with Asian gamblers delivered more luck to players in September, as the 24 casinos offering the game on the Strip reported a 40% year-over-year decline in hold. Strip baccarat generated GGR of $88.5 million, down nearly $59 million from September 2023. Baccarat hold last month was 17% compared to 22% a year ago.
“The decline is being driven by difficult hold comparisons,” Michael Lawton, the NGCB’s senior economic analyst, said of the Strip’s struggles.
The Strip’s losses were easily offset in downtown Las Vegas and elsewhere in Clark County, markets that don’t usually command much of the baccarat segment. Downtown GGR surged 33% to $91 million, Boulder revenue jumped 19% to $80.4 million, Mesquite win climbed 2% to $14.1 million, and the balance of Clark County was up almost 16% to $156 million.
Statewide, slots propelled the year-over-year increase, as the terminals won $896.9 million, a 10% gain. Table game win dropped roughly 15% to $335.1 million.
Nevada oddsmakers kept $80.9 million of the $764.6 million wagered to increase sports betting revenue by 30%.
Baccarat Blunders
July, August, and September marked the first time that Las Vegas Strip GGR was down in three consecutive months since it last happened from March through May 2019. September also pushed Strip revenue into the red for the year.
While there are concerns about slowing leisure travel, Lawton says baccarat is singlehandedly responsible for the Strip’s GGR downturn.
When you remove baccarat from the totals, the Strip is up 3.4%, or $60.8 million, for the quarter, and the state is up 3.3%, or $114.2 million,” Lawton said.
Even with baccarat included, statewide gaming win was up through three quarters of the year. GGR of approximately $11.54 billion marks a 1.2% year-over-year improvement, or about $140 million.
Visitor Volume Improves
Along with the gaming report, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) released its executive summary for September. The data points reveal that nearly 3.39 million people visited Las Vegas last month, 1.6% more than September 2023.
The increase was fueled by conventions, which saw attendance jump 29% to 527,200 attendees. Hotel occupancy was up 1.3 points to 83.9%, though there were fewer hotel rooms available due to the Mirage’s closure in July.
Despite more visitors in town, the average nightly rate for rooms on the Strip and across Las Vegas was down about 3%. Strip rooms averaged $210 while other rooms went for $196. Both rates are before resort fees and taxes.
Officials at Harry Reid International Airport said passenger traffic slowed 0.8% in September, with the facility serving about 4.75 million arriving and departing travelers.
