Nevada Wins $1B in Casino Money for Record 20th Consecutive Month

Posted on: November 29, 2022, 12:37h. 

Last updated on: November 29, 2022, 12:57h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.

Nevada casinos have won at least $1 billion in each of the previous 20 months. October’s numbers released Tuesday revealed the state’s gaming industry is showing no signs of a slowdown despite economic headwinds.

Nevada GGR casino gaming downtown Las Vegas
The entrance to Circa on Fremont Street in downtown Las Vegas. Nevada casinos are winning more money than ever before off of their gamblers, and that trend continued in October 2022. Players in Nevada lost more than $1 billion for the 20th consecutive month. (Image: Circa Resort & Casino)

The Nevada Gaming Control Board’s (NGCB) October gross gaming revenue (GGR) report disclosed that the state’s 312 licensed gaming venues jointly won $1.28 billion from players last month. That’s almost 5% higher than in October 2021.

Of the 19 metered markets in which the NGCB collects gaming data, 18 reported higher year-over-year GGR gains.

October 2022 extended the state’s run of winning at least $1 billion to 20 months. The state’s previous longest run of casinos winning upwards of $1 billion was just eight months. That streak endured from October 2006 through May 2007.

The Las Vegas Strip continues to fuel the ongoing rally. The main drag won approximately $705.8 million last month, a half-percent increase from October 2021.

The Strip continued to benefit from another incredibly strong sports and entertainment calendar, which included concerts, residencies, and three high-profile sporting events,” said Michael Lawton, the NGCB’s senior economic analyst.

Over the past 12 months, Las Vegas Strip GGR is 30% higher. Strip casinos have won more than $8.2 billion off of guests during the period.

The Strip’s performance will result in the Nevada gaming industry setting yet another GGR record this year. Nevada casinos won more than $13.42 billion in 2021, which topped the state’s previous best year of $12.85 billion set in 2007.

Through October, Nevada GGR in 2022 stands at approximately $12.3 billion.

Downtown Record

Downtown Las Vegas has been enjoying a gaming surge for many months. Derek Stevens’ considerable investment in building Circa has energized the Fremont Street area, and that’s leading to unprecedented gaming downtown.

GGR downtown last month totaled more than $90 million. That’s 19% higher than in October 2021.

The $90.4 million won by downtown casinos bested the market’s previous all-time gaming revenue month of $86.4 million, set in March. With the NFL in full swing, and October being the month when the Houston Astros won the World Series, the three-story Circa Sportsbook — dubbed Las Vegas’ largest, plus the resort’s rooftop Stadium Swim complex — lured many Las Vegas guests downtown.

Revenue from sports betting accounted for about $14.6 million of the downtown market’s $90.4 million in gaming income.

Visitor Data Forthcoming

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) will later this week release visitor statistics for October. Though the purchasing power of the dollar continues to be squeezed by record inflation, visitor volume in Southern Nevada has been robust throughout 2022.

The LVCVA previously reported that about 3.35 million people visited Las Vegas in September. That was 14% higher than in September 2021, but remained 3.5% lower than in pre-pandemic September 2019.

Casino room occupancy rates continue to rebound from pandemic lows. Las Vegas’ more than 150K hotel rooms were occupied 83% of the time in September. While that’s 10% better than the same month in 2021, the rate is still 5.2% lower than in September 2019.

Convention business continues to improve in Southern Nevada, but large-scale exhibition attendance numbers are still down about 20% from 2019.