Baccarat Games Help Nevada Casinos to Increase Revenue
2020 has seen the COVID-19 pandemic and the restrictions put in place to deal with it have a major effect on the revenues generated in casinos in Las Vegas. However, the latest numbers from the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) revealed a slight increase in revenue for the month of October.
The Full Figures
The NGCB stated that casino revenues across the state of Nevada rose by $1.6 million in October when compared to the previous month. Yet, the $822.7 million registered in October is still 19.5% lower than the amount of revenue created in the same month in 2019.
Looking at it by region, the Las Vegas Strip saw a 30.2% decline, while the downtown area of the city has dropped by 22.7% from last year. However, better news came from Reno and Lake Tahoe, where some annual growth has been reported.
The Revenue Generated by Different Games
While most types of games have seen revenues drop this year, baccarat climbed by 4.6% to annual revenue of $59.3 million. Another positive figure was noted in terms of mini baccarat, which rose by 5.3% to an annual total of $7.2 million in revenue.
Most other table games are down, as is the case with blackjack (-24.8%), roulette (-34.4%), and craps (-13%). Slots also suffered from lower revenue, with a 19% drop to an annual total of $565.8 million.
The NGCB report also looked at sportsbook revenue, which was 11.5% lower than last year, at $42.4 million. Football betting stayed popular, but baseball and basketball provided poor returns. This is in stark contrast to the figures coming out of New Jersey, whose betting market has seen record growth to give $58.5 million in revenue for the month of October.
A Look Ahead
These revenue numbers don’t look like getting much better any time soon, as Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak has reduced the number of people allowed in casinos by half, leaving them operating at 25% of capacity. This rule will be in force through to mid-December as an attempt to get the state’s coronavirus infection rate under control.
