April, Nevada Gaming Market Boosts: Up 7% To $666M, Strong Profit In Southern Nevada
The investment community had been anticipating a potential downturn in the Nevada gaming market. However, results from games and tourism in April, released on Wednesday, sparked optimism. Following a 1.2% drop in statewide sales in March, the Nevada Gaming Control Board reported a nearly 7% increase in strip gaming sales in April as the percentage of high-end baccarat games held increased.
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) also reported a 4% increase in Las Vegas tourism in April, with convention attendance surging more than 36% year over year.
According to The Nevada Independent, Chad Beyonon, a gaming analyst at Macquarie Securities, expressed confidence that strip gaming revenue will continue to grow through June. He highlighted the prospect that leaders at MGM Resorts International and Caesars Entertainment, two major hotel casino operators in Las Vegas, expect visits to increase and hotel room rates to rise by the end of 2024.
"We expect strip gaming revenue to be moderate, but we expect non-gaming [consumption] to increase further given sports, entertainment, and strong convention calendar programs," Beynon noted in the research report. He also highlighted the possibility that high-end luxury customers will remain at spending levels, although low-income visitors to Las Vegas may feel financial pressure.
A strip leads the way
The Nevada Board of Control reported in April that casinos across the state raised money from customers of more than $1.2 billion, up nearly 7 percent from the year before and setting a new record this month. Nearly $1.1 billion of that came from Clark County, with the Las Vegas Strip accounting for $666 million.
April's revenue figures follow March, the state's first drop in imports in eight months. Michael Lawton, chief economic analyst at the control board, noted that April was not traditionally the strongest month for gaming imports, adding that April's total revenue figures were the lowest so far in 2024.
Luxury baccarat games significantly boosted strip revenue, with revenue from the game up 80% from the previous year to $76.7 million. Betting at baccarat rose nearly 10% to $662.9 million, while casino holdings rose to nearly 11.7% from 7% a year earlier. Excluding baccarat, strip game revenue rose 1.2%.
Carlo Santarelli, game analyst at Deutsche Bank, pointed out that Streep's profits were driven by a favorable comparison of Baccarat Holds and a calendar effect in March ending on Sunday, which changed slot machine revenue to April. Streep's slot machine revenue rose 5.1% to $493 million.
LVCVA reported that Las Vegas attracted more than 3.5 million visitors in April, including 503,500 convention attendees from major events such as the International Security Conference (20,000 attendees), the Google Cloud Next Show (30,000 attendees), and the Kraft Brewers Conference (12,000). Streep also hosted several concerts and special events, including the UFC 300, at the T-Mobile Arena.
Streep's overall hotel share reached 85.5 percent, an increase of 1.2 percent year-on-year. Kevin Bagger, LVCVA's research vice president, stressed that the increase was significant, with average daily room rates up 6.6 percent to $182.20, given that more than 4,000 additional rooms were available compared to a year ago.
Propaganda in Southern Nevada, the decline of Washo County
Excluding Loughlin and North Las Vegas, the gaming market in southern Nevada has rebounded since March. Downtown Las Vegas and other Clark County neighborhoods have posted double-digit growth. Downtown grew 11.1% to $82.7 million, nearly offsetting a 12.5% drop in March, thanks to substantial contributions from slot machines and sports betting revenue. Downtown casino revenue fell less than 1% year over year in the first four months of 2024.
Other neighborhood casinos in Clark County, mostly outside the incorporated region, reported gaming revenue of $163.2 million, up 24.5%, including results from the newly opened Durango Casino Resort.
Games analyst Jordan Bender at JMP Securities noted that local markets in Las Vegas, including North Las Vegas and Henderson, saw gaming sales rise 16% from April a year earlier, despite some casino executives commenting on the market slowdown during quarterly earnings reports.
By contrast, the Washaw County mayor experienced a drop in gaming revenue for the second month in a row. Casino revenue in Reno fell 5.9% to $59.3 million, while Sparks fell 8.9% to $13.9 million. However, South Lake Taho reported its biggest monthly increase in the week, up 31.6% to nearly $18 million, driven by slot machine revenue for the last weekend of March, which was reported in April.
Overall, this development presents a more positive outlook for the Nevada gaming market, which is driving growth with higher-end baccarat play and increased tourism, while the broader market shows resilience despite some local downturns.
