Nevada casino revenue grew 10.5% from August but remained down 22.4% year-on-year, as low margins did not stop the state moving back towards normality following its novel coronavirus (Covid-19) shut-down.
Total revenue for September amounted to $821.1m, on stakes of $10.32bn, up 3.3% month-over-month. This represented the best monthly revenue total since February this year, the last full month of activity before Covid-19 disrupted the US casino market.
Slots contributed $607.5m in revenue, down 12.0% year-on-year but up 15.6% from August as players staked $8.37bn.
Table games at the state’s casinos brought in a further $213.6m in revenue on stakes of $1.95bn. The total was down 41.2% from September 2019 – and 1.8% compared to August – though stakes fell 17.9% from the prior year total.
This decline was largely driven by an exceptionally low margin on baccarat. Although players stakes $487.0m more than on any other game – casinos took in just $14.2m, down 86.6% year-on-year.
Blackjack, on the other hand, posted strong margins for the month and brought in $64.6m in revenue on $417.3m worth of bets.
Craps was the next largest producer of revenue among table games, as players staked $161.9m with casinos winning $32.8m. Roulette, meanwhile, brought in $22.5m in revenue on $105.6m in stakes.
The state’s $32.9m in sports betting revenue was down 36.8% from September 2019’s figure and came from $575.1m in handle, which was up 5.3% year-on-year as margins were much lower than in 2019.
These figures were well below New Jersey’s September revenue and handle of $45.1m and $748.6m respectively, as the Garden State continues to move further ahead of Nevada on betting figures.
Of Nevada’s betting revenue, $11.0m came from mobile, on $315.5m worth of bets, a record for the channel since the state Gaming Control Board began recording this data at the start of 2020. The channel’s revenue, meanwhile, was second only to January’s total.
With the return of the NFL, football was the most popular sport for betting, bringing in $10.7m on stakes of $221.9m.
However, with all four major leagues playing during the month, betting activity was much more diversified than usual. Baseball followed close behind in revenue with $10.2m on $147.3m worth of bets, while players staked $114.8m on basketball, with sportsbooks winning $3.7m.
Hockey saw handle of $25.0m and revenue of $5.1m, while $60.4m was staked on other sports, generating revenue of $1.1m.
Parlay Cards brought in revenue of $2.1m, from stakes of $5.8m.
Of the state’s total gaming revenue, $666.7m, down 16.5% year-on-year, came from Clark County, which includes Las Vegas.
The Las Vegas Strip continued to be hit particularly hard by the effects of the pandemic, as casinos on the Strip took in $354.7m, down 39.1%, as table game winnings were less than half of those in 2019 thanks in part to a 2.7% margin on baccarat.