Nevada Casinos Post Best October Ever, Win $1.3B From Gamblers

Posted on: November 30, 2023, 04:53h. 

Last updated on: December 2, 2023, 12:49h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More

Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.

Nevada casinos maintained their winning ways in October, as gross gaming revenue (GGR) totaled more than $1.315 billion. It’s the best October ever for the Nevada gaming industry and the sixth-best gaming month on record.

Data from the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) shows that state casinos won more than $894.8 million on their slot machines and $420.2 million on their tables and from sports betting.

Slot income climbed 2%, while gaming and sports betting jumped 4% compared to a year ago. October marked the state’s 32nd consecutive month of winning at least $1 billion from players.

Las Vegas Strip casinos won nearly $714.5 million, a 1.2% year-over-year improvement. Strip tables fared well on strong baccarat play and hold, but income from slots dwindled by 1%.

Downtown Las Vegas casinos won over $97.5 million, a nearly 8% year-over-year surge and the market’s all-time best monthly performance. Downtown attracts locals and guests in search of lower table minimums and looser slots. In October, the one-armed bandits won nearly $66.4 million, a more than 10% increase.

November Focus

Las Vegas is fresh off its inaugural hosting of F1. The Las Vegas Grand Prix was held on November 19, but not everyone was a fan of the motorsport spectacle. The 3.8-mile circuit greatly disrupted the Strip corridor, not only during race weekend but also in the weeks leading up to the event. The inconveniences were worth it, so say officials in Southern Nevada.

Analysts say the race drew 315K people over four nights and generated a local economic impact of $1.2 billion. How F1 impacted casino business remains to be seen.

MGM Resorts CFO Jonathan Halkyard said this week that F1 delivered the company its all-time best weekend. MGM is the largest operator of Strip properties.

Michael Lawton, the state Gaming Control Board’s senior economic analyst, forecasts a November record month.

We will be reporting the November gaming win totals during the last week of December and I understand there will be a great deal of anticipation to see the results and the impact from F1, so everyone will have to stay tuned until that time,” Lawton said.

There were reports of dealers splitting massive tip pools each night. Las Vegas Locally on X reported that Wynn and Encore dealers shared $700K on Saturday night alone, which equated to about $2,000 per croupier. It was reportedly the highest tip pool in Wynn Las Vegas’ 18-year history.

November Jumpstart

Las Vegas officials were willing to bet on F1 because the mid- to late-November period is typically slow in Southern Nevada. Sin City certainly isn’t a major Thanksgiving destination, and F1 was viewed as a new economic driver.

F1 is also revered for its affluent spectators, many of whom spend large sums traveling to the circuits and staying in lavish accommodations.   

“This will be the single largest tax-collection event in Nevada’s history by a fairly healthy margin,” Jeremy Aguero, a principal analyst at Applied Analysis, a preferred consultant to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, told Business Insider. “We believe the net impact of Formula 1 will be about $87 million in tax revenue.