Gaming win hits billion in state
October totals year’s strongest
State gaming win was back to its billion-dollar ways in October, one year after the beginning of a mini-slump.
The state Gaming Control Board on Tuesday reported gaming win of $1.063 billion, including $926.5 million from Clark County.
The state and county win levels were the highest of the calendar year, and the state surpassed the $1 billion mark for the fifth time in 2018, the most since 2008.
Strip win was up 12.2 percent to $593.4 million over October 2017, the month when tourism took a beating as a result of the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history on Oct. 1.
It was 40th time the state has recorded more than $1 billion in monthly win, a level first achieved in March 2005. The highest monthly win ever came in October 2007, when the state recorded $1.165 billion.
Downtown Las Vegas win was up only 0.3 percent for the month to $63.8 million. The Boulder Strip was off
0.6 percent to $78.3 million, but Laughlin was up 12.1 percent to $47 million.
The strong October numbers helped reverse a trend of sluggish win totals for Clark County and the Strip.
The three-month gaming revenue trend for the Strip, generally a more revealing gauge of win activity because it eliminates volatile swings resulting from calendar comparisons, shows win down 1.46 percent for August, September and October compared with those months in 2017. For Clark County, the three-month trend is off 0.03 percent.
The seventh-best win total GAMING
in state history for blackjack countered weak baccarat hold in October, according to Michael Lawton, senior research analyst for the Tax and License Division of the Control Board.
According to Lawton, the game and table win of $369.3 million was up 10.8 percent. “Slots also had a good month, with $693.5 million in win, up 5.8 percent or $37.7 million. Slots are up 3.5 percent for the calendar year, and all major markets are in positive territory.”
October visitation also was strong compared with the weakened October 2017 numbers.
Southern Nevada showed the best monthly year-over-year percentage increase of 2018 in October and enjoyed its second-best month in most statistical categories. Visitation was up 2.1 percent to 3.68 million people for the month.
Convention attendance was off 3.1 percent to 665,600 compared with October 2017’s record performance.
Citywide occupancy rates were up 1.4 percentage points to 91.4 percent in October and the average daily room rate climbed 2.6 percent to
$142.43 a night.
Auto traffic on major highways into Las Vegas was up 7.4 percent to 120,635 vehicles per day in October. Traffic into Las Vegas includes vehicles operated by local residents and the Nevada Department of Transportation, since September, included incoming traffic on the new Interstate 11 entry from Arizona.
After 10 months, visitor volume is off 1 percent to 35.4 million in 2017.
Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702477-3893. Follow @Rickvelotta on Twitter.