Nevada casinos posted flat gaming revenue in October, thanks in part to the fallout from that month’s mass shooting at the Mandalay Bay resort.
Figures released Thursday by the Nevada Gaming Control Board show statewide casino gaming revenue of $988.7m in October, up 0.3% from the same month last year. The sum was also only moderately higher than September 2017’s $980m.
Casinos on the Las Vegas Strip played spoiler in October, as gaming revenue declined 6% to $528.7m. Numerous Strip casino operators had commented on temporary dips in visitation and hotel bookings following the October 1 mass shooting that killed 59 individuals, including the gunman.
By contrast, Downtown Las Vegas saw its gaming revenue improve nearly 10% to $63.6m, while North Las Vegas shot up 11.6% to $27m. Statewide revenue numbers for first four months of the state’s fiscal year are up nearly 3.8% to just under $4b.
The state’s slot machines had a good month, with revenue improving 3.8% to $655.5m., while overall games and tables declined 6% to $333.2m. Most of the table tallies were in negative territory, including blackjack ($89.4m, -11.4%) and craps ($29.4m, -3.9%).
On the flip side, baccarat revenue nudged up 0.6% to $87.7m while roulette gained 9.8% to just under $33.3m. The state’s poker tables were relatively flat at $8.7m.
Over at the sportsbooks, the state handled $522m worth of wagers, a new all-time record for the month of October and the second straight month in which handle has eclipsed half a billion dollars. The record came despite one fewer weekend of NFL action, although this was countered by one extra week of NBA activity.
That said, the ongoing trend of NFL favorites covering the spread meant October’s sportsbook revenue took a beating, falling more than one-quarter year-on-year to a still impressive $31.5m. Football betting revenue posted the biggest decline, falling 47.6% to $15.7m.
That extra NBA week pushed basketball revenue up nearly 118% to just under $5m, while playoff action boosted baseball revenue by 38.5% to $6.3m. Sports parlay cards also had a solid month, rising more than one-quarter to $4.9m.
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