Posted on: June 27, 2024, 02:15h.
Last updated on: June 27, 2024, 02:15h.
Nevada casinos generated gross gaming revenue (GGR) of $1.32 billion last month, the best May ever for the Silver State gaming industry.
After March GGR fell almost 2% year-over-year and some analysts were quick to fire off warnings about an impending slowdown, Nevada’s casinos bounced back with strong showings in April and May.
Compared with 2023, April revenue was up almost 7% to $1.24 billion. May win climbed 2.5% to a record high for the month.
Table games and sports betting championed the higher win, as oddsmakers and felt accounted for $434.3 million, a roughly a 6% improvement from May 2023. Slots saw their hold climb 1% to $886.1 million.
Oddsmakers kept $36 million of the $514.4 million wagered on college and professional sports. The sportsbook win represented a 20% surge from May 2023.
Events Fuel Strip
Nevada’s gaming industry lives and dies by way of Las Vegas and the Strip. The world’s most famous casino corridor generated GGR of $742.5 million last month, or 3.7% better than the same month last year.
A strong event calendar and the ongoing return of major conventions and exhibitions were cited for the strong gaming result. Michael Lawton, the NGCB’s senior economic analyst, pointed to major concerts from Justin Timberlake, The Rolling Stones, Pearl Jam, and ongoing residencies from Adele, Garth Brooks, and Carrie Underwood as keeping Southern Nevada bustling.
May also welcomed numerous conventions, including the WasteExpo, International Spa Association Conference, ABC Kids Expo, RECon 2024, and the start of JCK Las Vegas.
The A-list concerts and large conventions led to Harry Reid International Airport reaching a new traffic milestone for May. Airport officials said LAS facilitated more than 5.2 million arriving and departing passengers last month, a 5.2% premium on May 2023 and the highest number of any May in state history.
International passenger counts soared last month to about 351,400 travelers, a 22% year-over-year jump. Domestic traffic climbed over 4% to 4.8 million flyers.
Of Las Vegas’ top five carriers — Southwest, Spirit, Delta, American, and United — only Spirit experienced reduced passenger traffic in and out of Southern Nevada. Southwest remained the dominant air carrier, with the budget-friendly airline accounting for more than 1.92 million passengers, up 9% from May 2023.
$1B Run Nears 40 Months
May 2024 marked the 39th month in a row where Nevada GGR eclipsed $1 billion. Before the unprecedented run, Nevada’s best 10-digit GGR streak was eight months, which was experienced between October 2006 through May 2007.
While Nevada and Las Vegas have maintained post-pandemic momentum, March marked the first year-over-year GGR decline in eight months. Gaming analysts are cautioning investors that a slowdown could be imminent, though April and May returned monthly year-over-year GGR to black.
The one constant has been the high-end strength, which is best evidenced by the baccarat segment, which has essentially carried GGR to positive comps over the last 12 months period,” Deutsche Bank analyst Carlo Santarelli wrote in April. “We believe this segment has reached a plateau, and despite competition for this customer continuing to heat up, is likely to fade, thereby exposing more clearly, the other underlying stagnation that is present in the market today.”
GGR from baccarat, the game most popular with gamblers from Asia, fell 5.5% in May to $126.4 million on a 16% hold rate. Baccarat volumes decreased from a year ago, as May 2023 baccarat win totaled $133.8 million on a nearly identical hold rate.
