Casinos in Nevada may finally feel a bit of relief after the September numbers from the Nevada Gaming Control Board have revealed a positive trend. The Silver State had its strongest month to date in September since the COVID disruption began back in mid-March, forcing the hand of all gaming giants.
The novel coronavirus bit into results, and led to furloughs and layoffs, but the industry may now be in the clear thanks to $821.1 million revenue generated during the month, out of $10.32 billion total stakes.
The staked amount constituted a 3.3% improvement over August whereas the total revenue was 10.5% better than the revenue collected in August. Even though the results looked strong, they were still 22.4% lower year-over-year, indicating that Nevada still has a long road to go before it catches up to its pre-pandemic levels.
What Drives Nevada’s Casino Revenue in September?
Having a look at the exact drivers of revenue, slots once again came on top, dominating the stats with $607.5m in revenue in the revenue, and down 12.0% year-over-year. Still, the slot revenue was 15.6% higher from August.
The total amount staked on slots reached $8.37 billion. Next came table games where casinos reported a decent turnout, with some $213.6 million in revenue generated over the month of September.
The amount was based on a total of $1.95 billion of total stakes, down the whopping 41.2% from September 2019. Yet, the true pitfall for table games proved Baccarat where player staked $487.0 million but casinos only took in $14.2 million, or down 86.6% year-over-year.
Blackjack, though, managed to get a slightly better overall result, with $64.6 million clocked out of $417.3 million placed in bets.
Craps did post some decent results, with $32.8 million in revenue on $161.9 million while roulette proved less popular with some $105.6 million in total stakes, and just $22.5 million in revenue.
While Nevada was happy with the progress achieved in September, its results were still way below New Jersey’s. New Jersey has seen a big boom in sports betting, too, as the state hasn’t been cut from tourists and visitors, and generally enjoys a better-connected gambling hub.
Nevada on the other hand relies heavily on visitations from out of state, or in the very least, drive-ins. Since Reno and Las Vegas are the only two places where players and bettors may enjoy gambling, this adds another strain to an already complicated situation.
Kevin was raised on sports since a young teen and following a (fortunate) injury pursued new hobbies in table games such as Blackjack and Poker. Since 2009 Kevin has been writing for casino sites for various big names in the industry and CasinoSites.us is but one of his latest passion projects.