Nevada Gaming Venues Took in $1.3B in March, But Las Vegas Strip Declines

Article ByDavid Weir

April 26, 2023

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Posted in: Nevada Gambling News, US Casino News, US Gambling News

Nevada’s total gross gaming revenue of $1.312 billion for March marks the 25^th month in a row the state’s gambling venues have grossed more than $1 billion.

The Nevada Gaming Control Board released their monthly revenue report this week. It revealed another billion-dollar month, and 4.8% more than February’s take. However, it also showed a slight overall decline compared to March 2022.

Areas that pulled in more gambling revenue than March 2022 include downtown Las Vegas, Sparks, and Mesquite.

However, the iconic Las Vegas Strip actually saw a 2.9% decline in revenues year-over-year. South Lake Tahoe saw the steepest decline of 34%, although that was undoubtedly down because of the massive snowstorms that covered the area for much of March.

Baccarat Bust

One interesting figure to look at each month is the breakdown of each individual game’s take for the month.

On the Las Vegas Strip, a big percentage of the overall decline they saw was from a large drop in table game revenues. Baccarat takings fell 49% compared with March 2022, and roulette revenues were down 35% as well.

As usual, slot revenues remained the strongest of all games on the strip. Overall, they brought in $399,840 – a 7% hike over last year’s figure.

Interestingly, that good month for casino slots win might not maintain into this month’s figures.

In April, some $450,000 in jackpots was given out in just one night at Strip casinos, as reported in the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Related: Best Nevada online casinos, rated and reviewed

Best Ever

Despite the slight decline in the Strip’s casinos and Nevada overall, it has been difficult to make comparisons over recent years. The resurgence of consumer demand after the end of the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions played a part in the two biggest years of revenue in Nevada’s history – July 2021 and March 2022.

March last year was the second-best month ever for Nevada casinos at $1.36 billion. So any revenues had potential to eventually decline from that high.

Then there’s also global and national trends to consider. Just this week, we reported on The American Gaming Association’s latest report into the outlook of the US gambling market. It displayed that, while positive things are good now, many US gambling execs think overall growth could slow down.

That could also be reflected in the statistics for March in Nevada. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority published its monthly report into visitor numbers – and they were up significantly at this time last year.

Some 3.6 million people visited Southern Nevada over the month, up 10% on March 2022, and major strip hotels saw 90% of rooms filled.

So more visitors and less gambling suggests a shift in people’s consuming habits and priorities. That could have been partly fueled by the increase in exhibitions, conventions, and conferences, at which there was 40% more attendees than last March.