halbergman
Gaming win on the Las Vegas Strip increased on a year-over-year comparison for the first time in five months, according to a new report from the Nevada Gaming Control Board.
Statewide gaming win was up 3.5% year-over-year in June to $1.33 billion. The Las Vegas Strip saw a modest increase in gaming win of 0.9% to $758.6 million. Downtown Las Vegas casinos saw gaming win jump 10.5% during the month to $73.2 million. Reno casinos saw gaming win rise 5.6% during the month to $67.8 million.
On the Las Vegas Strip, gaming win was up 10.0% for the slot machine business on a win percentage of 8.2%. Table/counter/card game gaming win was down 8.4%, even though the win percentage of 16.0% was high on a historical basis. Baccarat revenue was down 6.9% during the month, with international visitation a concern. Craps and roulette gaming win both were down more than 20% from a year ago. Notably, gaming win at sportsbooks rose 8% year-over-year during the month.
The mixed report on Las Vegas gaming revenue comes alongside a broader decline in travel to the city. According to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, overall visitations are down more than 6% through the first half of the year. Wall Street analysts have pointed to very soft tourism trends from Canada, China, and Mexico as a general headwind for Las Vegas visitation numbers. Some observers think that high hospitality prices are also a major factor, although domestic tourism trends have been stronger on the Las Vegas Strip than international traffic this year.
Looking ahead, Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ:CZR) warned on its earnings conference call on Tuesday about summer trends. “Vegas started leaking as a market (at the) end of May. That leak accelerated into June,” warned CEO Tom Reeg. “I’d expect the third quarter to be soft,” he added.
Sector watch: Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ:CZR), MGM Resorts (NYSE:MGM), Boyd Gaming (BYD), Wynn Resorts (WYNN), Full House Resorts (FLL), Bally’s Corporation (BALY), Sportradar (SRAD), Genius Sports (GENI), and Red Rock Resorts (NASDAQ:RRR).