August has been a rough month for the casino business in Nevada as casino revenue fell by 6.1%. It ended a stint of three straight monthly increases and meant a return to the dark days of earlier this year. According to figures released by the Gaming Control Board, state-wide casinos suffered their largest decline since February.
Casinos collected almost $886.9 million in August – that’s $57.9 million less than the same month a year ago. On the Strip, gaming revenues slipped by 8.7% to $496.9 million in August, down from $544.4 million a year ago.
Similarly, casinos in Washoe County, which includes Reno, saw gaming revenues decline nearly 10 per cent with Clark County’s dropping by nearly 7%. Some casinos did see positive growth with those on The Boulder Strip seeing an increase of 3.3%. South Lake Tahoe saw an increase of more than 16% compared with August last year.
It’s not all doom and gloom. The general fall in revenue across the state could be down to the fairly recent integration of mobile gambling kiosks. Approved by the Nevada Gaming Commission (NGC) last month, they allow mobile gambling in hotel rooms, which could mean gamers are instead staying in and gambling from the comfort of their luxury suite.
It wasn’t only gaming revenues that saw a general decline in figures. Gaming taxes collected in Nevada during September, based on August’s gaming revenues, declined 23.6%. The state collected $47.2 million compared with $61.8 million collected in the same month a year ago. For the first three months of the fiscal year, gaming tax collections were down 4.2%.
With the Las Vegas tagline contest in full swing, could these figures welcome a less hopeful catchphrase to associate with the state of Nevada?
What do you think – what would your tagline be? Tell us in the comments section below.
