Nevada and Clark County set all-time records for gaming win in May and the Las Vegas Strip continued its rebound as the gaming capital’s weekend hotel occupancy edged closer to 90%.
That positive news was even before conventions returned in early June and Resorts World Las Vegas opened its doors on June 24 on the Strip and before concerts and other large-scale entertainment return strong in July.
Las Vegas hosted 2.87 million visitors in May, 12% higher than April, though still 22 percent below May 2019 when there were 3.69 million visitors, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. Much of the difference is between the 520,800 convention visitors in May 2019 and none in May 2021, along with and a lack of international travel, which was down nearly 300,000 in May from normal.
The 3.5 million passengers who passed through McCarran International Airport in May were 23% below the 4.58 million in May 2019. Las Vegas is making up for it, in part, with vehicle travel from California, which is up 8% over May 2019 or about 4,000 more vehicles a day passing the state line.
Numbers released Wednesday by the Nevada Gaming Control Board showed the state’s casinos won $1.23 billion in May, 25% higher than May 2019. That eclipses the previous high, recorded in October 2007, of $1.17 billion. Every market increased in May compared to 2019, according to the Gaming Control Board.
May beat April 2021’s $1.04 billion and surpassed the $981.8 million in May 2019 in what was considered a disappointing month at the time by being down nearly 6% from May 2018. The Strip in May 2019 was off 11% compared to May 2018.
May also marked the third straight month Nevada has posted more than $1 billion in gaming revenue. Casinos started opening to 100% capacity last month and dropping mask mandates.
“May 2021 represents an all-time record for gaming win in Nevada and Clark County, the result of an all-time record slot win in addition to a very good baccarat month (hold related),” said Michael Lawton, research analyst for the Gaming Control Board. “All markets were up versus 2019, which can be attributed to strong demand, healthy consumers, and leisure travel beginning to rebound.”
The Las Vegas Strip had $655.4 million in revenue in May, 26.7% higher than May 2019’s $517.3 million. The record slot win on the Strip of $358.3 million was up 24.5% ($70.4 million) compared to May 2019, Lawton said.
For 2021, the Las Vegas Strip is still off 13.6% compared to 2019.
Revenues from locals casinos rose 25.2% to $258.5 million in May, up from $206.4 million, according to Deutsche Bank.
Downtown had its second highest win total of all time at $75.2 million, just below April’s $76.3 million, Lawton said. Its win total increased 37.2% or $20.4 million from May 2019. For the year, downtown is up 13.2% over 2019.
Washoe County, which includes Reno, had its highest win total since August 2008 at $91.9 million, up 23% from May 2019. It’s up 21% in 2021 versus the first five months of 2019, Lawton said.
Statewide, gaming revenue is down 1.3% compared to the first five months of 2019. But Nevada is up 2.4% since gaming resumed operations in June 2020. Clark County and the Strip are the only markets down since June (-2.2% and -15.2%, respectively). The state excluding the Strip is up 23.9% for that same period and Clark County excluding the Strip is up 20.3%.
On the Strip, table win of $297.2 million increased 29.5% ($67.7 million), compared to May 2019. Baccarat win of $105.9 million was up $52 million or 96.6%. The win percentage on baccarat was 22.18% compared to 7.69% in May 2019. The baccarat drop of $477.3 million was down 31.9%.
On the sports-betting front, compared to May 2019, sports pools won $27.1 million, up 140% ($15.8 million). Sports pool drop ($477.4 million) was up 50.4% ($159.9 million). Sports pool hold was 5.67% vs. 3.55% in May 2019. Both win and volume are all-time records for May, Lawton said. The win for sports wagers made with mobile apps was $13.3 million on a $297.8 million handle, holding 4.46%. The mobile handle accounted for 62% of total wagers.
