The Nevada Gaming Control Board reported May’s statewide casino gaming revenue hit $$1.003b, up 3.3% from the same month last year. Revenue on the Las Vegas Strip rose 1.4% to $601.2m. For Nevada’s fiscal year to date, which concludes at the end of June, gaming revenue is down 1%.
For a change, Nevada’s gains came despite a significant decline in baccarat winnings. Baccarat revenue was down 36.4% to $109.8m on a hold of 11.5% as handle fell 7.4% year-on-year. It should be noted that May 2014’s $172m baccarat win and 16.5% win rate was something of an outlier.
Blackjack was the month’s top table game earner, rising 27.4% to $122.7m. Craps was well back at $43.7m (+33.8%) while roulette earned $33.1m (+0.6%). The rest of the table tallies are as follows: three-card poker ($13.3m, +3.3%), mini-baccarat ($9.8m, +1.1%), pai gow poker ($8.9m, +9.9%), let it ride ($3.4m, +4.9%), keno ($2.3m, -5.9%), bingo ($1.6m, +67%) and ‘other’ games contributed $16m (+20.6%).
Slots revenue rose 8% to $601.4m. Poker revenue (including the state’s two remaining online poker sites) rose less than one percent to $10.3m.
The Mayweather/Pacquiao tilt gave a significant lift to Nevada sportsbooks, which reported revenue up 73.3% to $19.8m. The state’s “other” sports betting category, which includes boxing, rose 345.7% to a record $8.2m on a hold of 10%. Baseball also had a good month, rising 29.3% to $10.7m, while basketball fell 1.3% to $2.8m. Parlay cards rose 168% to $219k while laggard football bettors cashed in $2.1m worth of winners. The state’s race books fell 9.9% to just under $6m.