After two straight months of declining gaming revenue, Nevada’s casino industry bounced back with a 2% increase to $1.46 billion in December compared to $1.43 billion for the same month in 2023.
The state’s gaming numbers are still off for the fiscal year (July 1, 2024 through Dec. 31, 2024), dropping almost 2%, according to figures recently released by the Nevada Gaming Control Board.
Vegas Strip Declines, Other Areas Shine
Clark County, home to Las Vegas, helped lead the turnaround. After a decline of more than 4% in November, the county saw growth of 1.5% with revenues reaching $1.29 billion. This was despite a 2.7% drop on the Las Vegas Strip to $881.3 million.
Table games revenue played a big role in the Strip decline. That segment decreased 16% from December 2023 to $385.9 million. Experts say that high-stakes baccarat once again played a major part as bettors took some money off the casinos with the game’s revenue dropping 9.8%. However, Vegas slot machine revenue was up 11.1% to $495.4 million.
Other parts of the county apparently made up for some of the Strip’s downswing. Downtown Las Vegas saw a revenue increase of 8.4% to $82.3 million. North Las Vegas was up 1.6% to $25.3 million and Laughlin’s revenue grew 9.4% to $34.5 million. The Boulder Strip really stood out, surging 29.7% to $87.8 million.
Additional key locations around the state also saw some growth. Reno reported a 19.9% increase from December 2023 with total revenue of $65.8 million. South Lake Tahoe was also up 20.3% to $19.4 million, but North Lake Tahoe dropped 3.6% to $2 million.
