Nevada's gaming industry shatters its previous record at all-time high $14.8B revenue for 2022

Nevada casinos have reported their financial results for 2022, showing record numbers for the industry. With the inclusion of December’s performance, the state finished off the year with more than $14.8 billion in gaming revenue, blowing past 2021’s $13.4 billion. Results for the year were fueled by a record performance of the Strip in December.

As reported by the Gaming Control Board, the Strip accounted for more than $8.2 billion of the state’s total in the year, a 17.1% increase compared to its 2021 performance. As for December’s gaming revenue in the Strip, which amounted to almost $814.2 million, figures were boosted by a stacked event calendar that included two Las Vegas Raiders games, the PAC-12 championship football game, the National Finals Rodeo and a UFC fight. 

Gamblers wagered about $5.8 billion in slot machines on the Strip in December, more than any month in history. The Strip’s slot machine win in December was $405.1 million, while table games win totaled $409.1 million. The Strip’s total gaming figures for the month grew 25% compared to 2021.

As for the entire year, Nevada had already eclipsed the 2021 record by November 2022. Then, December’s numbers came in, further extending the record, with casinos reporting $1.3 billion in revenue for the month. 

Control board senior economic analyst Michael Lawton explained that the Strip accounted for the majority of the statewide increase in December. “The state’s combined markets outside of the Strip only increased by 0.2% compared to December 2021,” he said as reported by The Nevada Independent. 

Nevada has now experienced 22 straight months of $1 billion or more in gaming revenue. During the streak, the jurisdiction’s monthly gaming revenue total surpassed Nevada’s previous statewide record of $1.16 billion set in October 2007 in 15 different months, including July 2021’s current single-month record of $1.36 billion. 

Statewide, play in all forms of casino games was also up in December. Slot machine win of $803.5 million increased by 2.2% from the same month the past year. Table game win of $511 million increased by 40.5%. Baccarat win in December also increased 68.7% to $148 million. 

Nevada sportsbooks won $55.2 million for the last month of 2022, up 245.9% from December 2021 with a hold percentage of 6.3%. Total handle amounted to $880.5 million, with mobile sports wagers accounting for $604.1 million, or 68.6% of all wagers. As for the entire year, Nevada’s sports betting industry set a record for revenue of $446.7 million and total wagers of $8.7 billion, snapping 2021’s previous record.

Lawton suggested the monthly gaming revenue increases may moderate during 2023. The control board told the state’s Economic Forum that monthly gaming revenue model predictions for the coming year show a roughly 1.5% gaming revenue decline statewide, with Strip revenue showing no increase. However, January and February numbers for 2023 are expected to see an increase compared to last year, when results were blunted due to the Omicron variant.

“Flattish to moderate growth is good if we keep close to where we are now. If we miss by 1 or 2%, those are still strong numbers compared to where we were in 2019,” Lawton said, as reported by The Nevada Independent. 

Outside of the Strip, nine of Nevada’s 18 submarkets had record revenue totals for 2022, including downtown Las Vegas and the combined areas that make up the Las Vegas locals casino sector. 

Clark County saw gaming revenue jump 11.8% in 2022 to almost $12.8 billion. Downtown Las Vegas casinos recorded $880.2 million in revenue, up 4.5% from 2021, and the combined locals market topped more than $2.9 billion, an increase of 2.4%.

The Boulder Strip, which includes casinos in Henderson, was the state’s only region to decline its revenues last year, though the $966.7 million figure was a less than 1% dip from 2021’s all-time record of $967.5 million. Lawton assured the area “remains very healthy” despite this mishap. 

Northern Nevada’s major gaming markets did not set records during the year, but did exceed 2021 totals. Washoe County hit more than $1 billion for the second year in a row, a 2.4% increase. Reno casinos grew revenue by 2.1%. Sparks, which saw the opening of Legends Bay Casino in August, saw growth in revenue by 3.6%. 

“The year wasn’t a surprise, we knew we were going to set a record for a couple of months. It’s a great year in terms of comeback and showing the strength of our gaming-tourism industry,” Lawton stated, as reported by the cited source. 

However, the record-setting gaming totals did not translate into visitor volume increases. Visitation to Las Vegas fell just short of 39 million in 2022, 20.5% ahead of 2021, but still trailing the pre-pandemic total of 42.5 million visitors in 2019. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority reported that December saw more than 3.3 million visitors to Las Vegas, an increase of 10.1% from a year earlier.

In 2022, overall hotel occupancy reached 79.2%, with 89.3% occupancy on weekends. Average daily room rates on the Strip in December reached $187.90, up 38% from 2019. For the year, average daily room rates were $182.11, 27.2% higher than in 2019.