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Nevada Casinos Are Still Struggling with a Drop in Revenue – But Baccarat, Bingo, & 100-Dollar Slot Machines Are on the Rise

Article by : Helen Dec 10, 2020

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Nevada Gaming Control Board has released the fresh figures for the statewide gaming revenues in October – and things still look dire for casino operators on the statewide scale.

In October, Nevada casino operators managed to bring in $822.7 million in revenues – a bit more than in September 2020 ($821.1 million). But, the statewide year-on-year drop still remains high: -19.5% in comparison with October 2019. Both table, counter, and card games, along with slot machines, have reported a similar year-on-year decrease in revenues, 20.45% and 19.06%, respectively. However, October wasn’t all that bad for bingo, baccarat, and mini-baccarat games. They actually brought in more revenues than in October 2019: 13.55%, 5.2%, and 4.6% more, respectively.

As for which counties weather the storm the best, Washoe County North Shore Lake Tahoe Area and Douglas County South Shore Lake Tahoe Area reported a 15.57% and 11.62% year-on-year rise in revenues for October 2020. Clark County Las Vegas Strip Area and Clark County Downtown Las Vegas Area, the two areas that constitute the heart of the state’s casino industry, remain in the red compared to the same month’s revenues last year. Their year-on-year drops are -22.68% and -33.93%, respectively.

There are some silver linings for slot machines, too. 100-dollar slot machines, for instance, reported a staggering year-on-year increase in revenues: 279.3% compared to October 2019. Moreover, the 1-cent and multi-denomination slot machines remain to be the ones to pull in the biggest revenues: $250 million and $249.27 million, respectively. Combined, it’s almost twice as much as the whole table, counter, and card games sector revenues in the same month.

As for sports betting, football was the only sector that has shown a year-on-year increase in revenues (24.53%). The other betting industry sectors – horse racing, basketball, baseball, parlay cards, and hockey – are in the red compared to the same time last year, with basketball betting being hit the hardest (its revenues are down 105.34%). November is unlikely to be a great opportunity for Nevada casino operators to bounce back. Daily new COVID-19 cases are on the rise in the state, from several hundred per day in September to 1,500+ in November (and even the groundbreaking 2,000+ daily new cases every day since 23 November).

Clark County, home to most casino operators thanks to the Las Vegas Strip and its downtown area, is also the county that typically accounts for more than a half of Nevada’s daily new coronavirus cases.

As a part of the “statewide pause” measures, the state’s governor, Steve Sisolak, toughened up the restrictions on indoor public gatherings. Occupancy limits in casinos, restaurants, and bars that were previously set at 50% have been reduced to 25% starting November 24. The reduced occupancy limits are expected to remain in effect for at least three weeks, with a possible prolongation of these measures should the COVID-19 situation remain dire.

This decision has already prompted the Las Vegas Mayor, Carolyn Goodman, to call Nevada Gov. Sisolak “a dictator with whom we [Las Vegas] have complied every step of the way.” She also emphasizes that these measures are likely to be met by a strike of the casino workers’ union.