Nevada casino gaming revenue fell by more than 4% in October, the third straight month of declining numbers. Figures released by the Nevada Gaming Control Board (GCB) show statewide revenue down 4.3% to $913.6m while casinos on the Las Vegas Strip fell 5.6% to $520.3m. Meanwhile, the state’s regulated online poker market reported yet another record low revenue tally.
As ever, the murder weapon was found near the baccarat tables, where revenue fell 33% to $101.1m as the sums wagered fell 15% and win fell two points to 10.2%. Blackjack revenue fell nearly 9% to $77.8m, while roulette grew a hefty 107.5% to $33.4m, allowing it to eclipse craps, which fell 8.4% to $30.4m. The rest of the table games fared as follows: three-card poker ($13m, +4.5%), pai gow poker ($9m, +22.8%), mini-baccarat ($7.6m, -22.3%), let it ride ($3.5m, +8.6%) and keno ($2.4m, -11.3%). Slots revenue was up less than 1% to $580.2m.
Brick-and-mortar poker revenue fell 9.3% to $8.7m while October’s online poker revenue came to $665k, down 4% from September and a new record low. October’s report is the last to include a full month’s worth of results from Ultimate Gaming, which shut down in mid-November after determining the “extremely cost-prohibitive” regulated market wasn’t worth pursuing.
Nevada sportsbooks reported revenue down 9% to $27.6m. The books set a new record for football betting handle in October with $461.1m, of which the books held 4.5%. But that win rate was below last October’s 5.3%, causing football revenue to fall 6% year-on-year to just under $17m. Parlay cards rose 1.5% to $4.5m, baseball fell 23.8% to $3.8m and basketball dipped 3% to $1.7m. Horseracing was the month’s star performer, rising 18.5% to $4.6m.
HUSTLER STRIP CLUB WANTS SPORTSBOOK
The Hustler strip club in Las Vegas has announced it wants to join the ranks of Nevada’s licensed sportsbooks, which will give a whole new meaning to the phrase ‘covering the spread.’ On Friday, the Nevada Gaming Commission received an application from the strip club to offer sports wagers on its premises. Déjà Vu/Hustler exec Harry Mohney told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that the application wasn’t a stunt and that the club hoped to begin taking bets by the time the Super Bowl rolls around in January.
Mohney said the club wants to add a few wrinkles to the average sportsbook experience, including offering free lap dances for frequent bettors as well as the ability to wager during a lap dance via hand-held devices. (“Tell me, Sapphire, do you think the Jets will cover?”) But worryingly, Mohney said that if state regulators require the club’s dancers to wear pasties or bikini tops in order for the club to take wagers, then so be it. Careful not to throw out the boobies with the bathwater, Harry…
