Las Vegas and Nevada hit a wall in March by failing to surpass year-over-year gaming revenue, but still posted an impressive $1.29 billion last month. The statewide decline ends a streak of eight consecutive monthly increases going back to July.
March’s statewide numbers fell 1.65% below the $1.31 billion in revenue in March 2023 when most jurisdictions, with few exceptions including locals casinos, recorded declines, according to numbers released Thursday by the Nevada Gaming Control Board. The one caveat is the favorable calendar compared to March 2023 with two additional weekend days; those helped account for the $21.6 million more than March 2024.
The Las Vegas Strip reported $715.8 million in revenue in March, a 1.2% decline from the $724.6 million in March 2023. The Strip is up 2.5% for the year.
Locals casinos, on the other hand, recorded $270.9 million in gaming revenue in March, a 0.4% increase over the $269.7 million in March 2023. They’re up 2.4% for the year.
“By segment, the impact of Durango (Casino & Resort that opened in December) continues to show, with the balance of Clark County gross gaming revenue up 6.6% year over year in March, while both the Boulder Strip and North Las Vegas segments were down mid- to high single digits,” said Carlo Santarelli, an analyst for Deutsche Bank.
Downtown Las Vegas and the Boulder Strip took the biggest hit in March. Downtown generated $76.1 million in revenue, a 12.8% decline from $87.4 million in March 2023. Downtown is down 3.4% for the year.
The Boulder Strip reported $78.3 million in revenue, down from $86.3 million in March 2023, a 9.2% decline. North Las Vegas fell 4.1% to $25.7 million.
As for Strip revenue, Santarelli said the March numbers were down, even with baccarat revenue growing 74.1% year over year despite handle falling 3.8%.
“Looking ahead to April, while we believe gaming volume is slowing, though it has been largely masked by baccarat, Strip gross gaming revenue should get a healthy boost from the easy baccarat-hold comparison, as April 2023 baccarat hold was just 7.1%.”
Nevada continued to record gaming win in excess of pre-pandemic levels. Statewide total win was 26.2% or $267.7 million over March 2019. March also represented the 37th consecutive month that the state has recorded $1 billion in monthly gaming win, according to Michael Lawton, senior economic analyst for the Gaming Control Board.
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority reported Thursday the 3.67 million visitors in March were a 0.4% increase over March 2023’s 3.65 million. The LVCVA credited several college basketball tournaments held in the city before March Madness, along with headliners and NASCAR.
The LVCVA reported 484,400 in convention attendance, a 37% decline year year over. It cited a tough comparison to recorded-breaking attendance in March 2023 of 771,000. Despite that, convention attendance is down only 7.2% for the year.
Overall hotel occupancy reached 85.3% for the month, a decline of three points year over year. After breaking the record for both average daily rate and revenue per available room in March 2023, ADR and revenue per room saw decreases of 16.4% and 19.2%, respectively.
The Strip had an 88.3% occupancy in March, a decline from 90.5% year over year. Downtown had a 69.3% occupancy rate, a decline from 76.4%.
Travel to Las Vegas remains strong, aided by foreign visitation. Just over five million passengers passed through Harry Reid International Airport in March, a 2% increase over March 2023. The 314,577 international visitors were a 22.8% increase.
There were a lot of attractions for tourists in March in addition to the NCAA basketball tournament that draws large crowds.
New Edition held their residency at the Wynn Las Vegas March 1-1. Madonna and her “Celebration Tour” performed at T-Mobile Arena March 1-2. Allegiant Stadium hosted the National Rugby League kick off on March. NASCAR returned to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway March 2 and 3. Carrie Underwood returned to Resorts World to perform March 6-16. Niki Minaj played at the T-Mobile Arena on March 8. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band returned to Las Vegas for the first time since 2002 for a concert at T-Mobile Arena on March 22.
The Las Vegas Strip’s slot win totaled $401.4 million and decreased 5% or $20.9 million. The Strip’s coin-in totaled $5.2 billion, a 0.2% or $12.5 million increase. Slot hold was 7.74% versus 8.17% last year, Lawton said.
The Strip’s games win of $314.4 million increased 4% or $12.2 million and the drop total of $2.1 billion decreased 7.7% or $176.7 million. Games hold percentage was 14.93% versus 13.24% last year.
Strip baccarat win totaled $111.6 million and was up $47.5 million or 74.1%. Volume totaled $589.6 million, down 4.1% or $25 million, while hold was 18.9% versus 10.4%. Total win excluding baccarat decreased by 8.5% or $56.2 million. Statewide baccarat win, meanwhile, has increased in nine consecutive months, Lawton said.
Strip 21 win of $81.1 million decreased 24.1% or $25.8 million. Volumes totaled $618.8 million and decreased 7% or $46.7 million, while hold percentage was 13.1% versus 16.1% last year.
Strip sports win totaled $8.9 million and decreased 49.6% or $8.8 million. Volumes totaled $376.5 million and were down 12.6% or $54.3 million, while hold was 2.34% versus 4.1%.
Nevada sportsbooks won $29.8 million, down 32.1% or $14.1 million compared to March 2023, on a hold percentage of 3.8% versus 5.3% last year. Sportsbook wagers totaled $784.4 million, down 5.5% or $45.4 million compared to last March, when $829.8 million was wagered statewide. Mobile wagers totaled $507.0 million, down 4.6% or $24.7 million, and accounted for 64.6% of total wagers.
In downtown Las Vegas, slot win totaled $50.1 million and decreased 12.8% or $7.3 million. Slot coin-in was up 0.3% or $1.8 million. Slot win percentage was 7.55% versus 8.68% last year.
Downtown game and table win totaled $26.1 million, down 12.9% or $3.9 million. Games drop decreased 6.3% or $20.1 million on a hold of 8.7% versus 9.3% last year.
Sports decreased 15.8% or $1.9 million. Volumes were down 4.9% or $10.3 million, while hold was 5.2% versus 5.8%.
Gaming jurisdictions outside of Las Vegas reported slight increases. Laughlin rose 1.7% to $49.4 million in March, while Mesquite rose .89% to $19.1 million.
In northern Nevada, Reno fell 6% to $52 million. Sparks fell 1.3% to $15.1 million. South Lake Tahoe fell 5.4% to $15.8 million.
