Nevada casinos near longest $1B+ win streak record in August, above 2019 numbers

The post-pandemic scenario has favored Nevada’s casinos, showrooms and other entertainment venues, even considering mask mandates which still run in the area. In August, casinos saw their sixth-straight $1 billion gaming revenue, leaving Nevada in a good position to reach the $12 billion annual revenue figure the rest of the country had reached before 2020.

The Gaming Control Board said Thursday gaming revenues statewide topped $1.165 billion in August, a 22.3% increase over the pre-pandemic August 2019. Even the Las Vegas Strip, which has trailed the state percentage totals for much of 2021, is now even less than 1% behind its 2019 numbers. 

The $1 billion per month streak began in March, and is the state’s second-longest in 14 years, only beaten by eight months from November 2006 to May 2007. August’s figures followed Nevada’s largest single-month gaming total of all time, which accounted for $1.36 billion in July. 

On the Strip, casinos recorded nearly $625.7 million in gaming revenue, which trailed July’s record of $793.7 million. Downtown Las Vegas casinos saw nearly $64.2 million in gaming revenues during August, with the area being up 23.2% for the calendar year compared to 2019.

In all, Nevada collected $74.1 million in percentage fees based on the taxable revenue generated during the eighth month of the year.

Gaming Control Board Senior Economic Analyst Michael Lawton credited several special events during August for the gaming figures, such as the United States vs. Mexico finals for the CONACAF Gold Cup on Allegiant Stadium, and two Cirque Du Soleil shows that returned to the Las Vegas Strip. 

“Strong demand across markets, federal stimulus, the continued rebound of leisure, travel and the return of special events and entertainment continued to propel gaming past 2019 levels”, Lawton noted. These factors pushed the winnings to nearly 8% above year-to-date figures for 2019.

As reported by The Nevada Independent, Wells Fargo gaming analyst Daniel Politzer considered the Strip’s “good fortune carried into the Las Vegas local market, which also gained some calendar benefit with August beginning on a Sunday. That allowed slot machines revenues from many casino operators from the last day of July to be counted in the August totals”.

“We view the results as strong and supportive of our positive view on the fundamentals on the Las Vegas Srip and Las Vegas Locals gaming markets”, Polizter wrote in a research note.  

However, other events such as Caldor Fire, which interrupted activities in the area, and the Delta variant of COVID-19 have affected visitation to Southern Nevada, which has declined 9.2% compared to July’s 3.3 million visitors. Nevertheless, hotel occupancy hit 72.9%.