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US – Nevada’s casinos set new record for net income with second best GGR in 2022

By Phil - 23 January 2023

Nevada’s 296 casinos smashed their personal best in 2022 generating $4.1bn in net income during the 2022 fiscal year, surpassing the previous record of $2.9bn from the 2020 fiscal year, running from July 1 to June 30.

In terms of revenue, the state’s largest casinos recorded their second-highest revenue in history last year, almost reaching the pre-pandemic revenue record set in fiscal year 2018. They generated $10.67bn in casino revenue, $2.63bn in hotel room sales, $1.7bn in food sales and $1.2bn in beverage sales. The results came with occupancy rates still well down. Large casinos reported 52.6 per cent occupancy rate on a total of 46.7 million room nights. The highest occupancy rate, 80.1 percent, was reported in June 2022.

Michael Lawton, the Control Board’s senior economic analyst, confirmed that several records were recorded in the 2022 fiscal year.

Mr. Lawton said: “The Strip accounted for 87.1 per cent of the state’s $4.33bn improvement to net income in fiscal year 2022. The total revenue generated in all departments was $17.3bn, second highest all time, compared with $8.7bn last year. The Strip accounted for 83.1 per cent of the state’s $10.2 billion increase to total revenue in fiscal year 2022.”

In Clark County, 170 of the largest casinos, defined as those generating $1m or more per year, produced net income of $3.57bn and revenue of $23.46bn, a 72.1 per cent year-over-year increase. Strip casinos generated $1.82bn in net income on revenue of $17.29bn, the second-highest totals in history, with revenue up 98.3 per cent compared to the same period a year ago.

Downtown Las Vegas generated two records generated net income of $269.7m on revenue of $1.5bn, an increase of 45.1 per cent from 2021.

Of the 14 markets in the state, only South Shore Lake Tahoe with GGR down by 0.1 per cent.

Brendan Bussmann, analyst with Las Vegas-based B Global, added: “The resiliency of the gaming industry, as it continues to rebound from the pandemic and face continuing challenges with economic uncertainty, shines through with the numbers from 2022. While the Tahoe numbers reflect the shutdown during the fire, you would have had an even stronger number without that loss.”

“While you can still see the ebb and flow through some of the challenges from a year ago, gaming continues to drive Nevada’s recovery forward not just with gaming but also with nongaming and spillover from indirected and induced economic activity,” he added.

The report also found that 56 casinos owned by public companies generated 67.8 per cent of the total gaming revenue.

On average, the state’s large casinos had 111,416 employees with 29,270 at casinos, 19,717 at hotel rooms, 25,768 in the food department, 8,320 in the beverage department, 21,190 in general work positions and 7,151 working in other departments.

The state’s large casinos reported making $95.16 per room per day on table games (including keno and bingo), $316.16 per room per day on slot machines, $70.37 per room per day on food sales, $49.45 per room per day on beverage sales, with an average room department payroll of $39.66 per room per day.