Las Vegas is one that has been hit hard since the 2008 financial collapse. The city as a whole relies very heavily on their gaming industry particularly the industry in Las Vegas in order to create tax revenue for the state. Although things have been looking up as of late, in June, Nevada saw huge revenue declines. It was reported that Nevada saw a 6% decline in gaming revenues in June when compared to the previous year, with the strip being down 4.5% when compared to the previous year as well.
These figures were released on August 7th by the Gaming Control Board of Nevada. In total, the casinos were able to collect more than $832.5 million from gamblers throughout June. That number was up to $885 million in June of 2011. This drop is a significant one, leaving many in the casino industry nervous about what they thought was a recovery in the making. A number of casinos throughout other areas of Las Vegas and Nevada, were hit even harder.
Washoe County’s casinos were some of the only casinos that fared well, up 7% over the previous year, mostly thanks to a number of large events that were held throughout the region.
Other regions throughout Nevada also fared well, but most counties saw significant losses in their revenue. Casinos in Clark County account for 85% of the total casino revenue generated throughout the state. Specifically, the Las Vegas strip saw huge revenue dipped this year. In June of last year, the Las Vegas strip is able to bring in a total of $506.7 million, but this year was only able to bring in $483.7 million. Although many of the casinos on the strip expected their losses to be more noticeable, these large dips in overall revenue serve as a bid of a scare to many individuals… the area would continue to climb.
A number of events in the Las Vegas strip also helped with various individual games. For instance the Pacquiao – Bradley championship fight brought in thousands of baccarat players, which increase the revenues of that particular game on the Las Vegas strip.
It will be interesting to see if the casinos are able to turn around this slow June, and turn it into a more fruitful August bowl for the casinos themselves, and for Las Vegas as a whole.