Operator News

US – Billion dollar plus months are the new norm for Nevada but could the Strip soon hit the milestone too?

By Phil - 29 March 2023

The Las Vegas Strip’s best ever February helped push the state of Nevada to yet another billion dollar plus month, marking two years of consecutive $1bn plus months and begging the question; is this now the norm for Nevada?

The Strip, with 28 casinos, generated $712.4m in revenue, increasing from $599.1m in February 2022 with the State’s 441 casinos bringing in $1.24bn in February, marking an 11.2 per cent increase from February 2022.

Clark County casinos alone surpassed $1bn for the 10th straight month, with analsysts now asking if the Strip could generate the milestone on its own.

Michael Lawton, Senior Economic Analyst for the Control Board, believes that following 24 months of $1bn plus months for Nevada, the figure has become the norm.

He said: “I think after 24 consecutive months you could safely say it is [the norm]. Obviously there is a lot of economic uncertainty, however that uncertainty has not spilled over into the record gaming win amounts we have witnessed over the last two years. Clark County has recorded over $1 billion in 10 consecutive months and in 17 out of the last 24 months. The Strip in December of 2022 recorded a win amount of $814.2 million which was the all-time record for the market. I think there is interest if the Strip on its own could hit the billion-dollar amount.”

In February, Clark County’s gaming revenue accounted for 87.4 per cent of Nevada’s total win with the Strip having 57.6 per cent of the state’s total.

For the state as a whole, slot win increased by 7.6 per cent to $822.8m whilst tables increased 18.6 per cent to $102.5m. Nevada sportsbooks won $41.2m, increasing 33.5 per cent from last year’s February, although the amiount staked was down 15.6 per cent to $659.4m.

Brendan Bussmann, Analyst at B Global, believes thee is still space for more revenue growth.

“We still do not have some of the foreign guests back, and the business customer is still returning, which will likely drive additional opportunity for gaming revenue,” he explained. “There are still a number of headwinds with economic and geopolitical forces that could impact the current trends in revenue. With a recession pending, a potential banking crisis, and other factors, Nevada continues to prevail through these challenges but these and other factors could have an overall impact on Clark County and the rest of the state.”