Casinos in Nevada Record 3.5% Increase in May

Nevada casinos see increase in revenue for May 2017, sportsbooks on the downward spiral.

Nevada Gaming Control Board has released the figures for the month of May, which show the casinos in the Silver State can be satisfied with the results.

The casinos in Nevada recorded a 3.5% year-on-year increase in earnings. Bear in mind this is the third monthly increase, when compared to 2016, which gives the state’s regulator much reason to be optimistic.

Second Best Month This Year

Nevada casinos earned a total of $991.6 million during May, which is also the second best monthly result so far in 2017.

Mike Lawton, Nevada Gaming Control Board senior analyst, said it had been a very positive month in terms of gaming revenue, while he also added the Control Board was very pleased with this year’s figures.

Table games accounted for 34.7% of May revenue, or $344.4 million, while the rest – $647.2 million, or 65.3% – was earned by slot machines.

Lawton also explained the current growth has not been limited to a particular area of the state. He added that all casinos in the state, apart from those in the north shore of Lake Tahoe, have recorded an increase in revenue since the start of the fiscal year.

From July 2016 through May this year, Nevada casinos earned $10.6 billion.

Casinos on the Rise, Sportsbooks Dropping

The world-famous Las Vegas strip also recorded positive figures, with a growth of around 3% in comparison to May 2016. When translated to money, the 4.2 miles long stretch of South Las Vegas Boulevard earned $546.8 million. Downtown Las Vegas grabbed $55.2 million, 9.5% more than in the same period of last year.

Casinos located on the south shore of Lake Tahoe recorded a neat raise of 30%, to a total of $17.8 million in May, while the casinos in the biggest little city in the world, Reno, earned around $51.2 million, which is a year-on-year increase of 1.7%.

Baccarat has been very popular during May, bringing home a revenue of $100.9 million, nearly $12 million more money when compared to 2016. This high-stakes game is especially favoured by players from Asia.

Sportsbooks will want to forget May, since the month ended with a drop of 49.9%.

According to Lawton, the main culprit for such a dismal result was basketball. The public made lots of bets on Cavaliers and Warriors, but the two sides managed to cover the spread during May.

All in all, the state of Nevada recorded a 2.6% increase in percentage fees on taxable revenue and got $52.3 million from the industry. Not a bad month indeed.