There has been virtually no change in the revenue brought in by the poker rooms in Nevada. This was the message from the state’s Gaming Control Board which reported this week that the 71 poker rooms brought in just under $9.7 million during the month of March, 2016. Compared to the same month one year previously, there was a minuscule drop of 0.01%.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board said that during March 2016, players sat down to play at 655 poker tables. When compared with the previous year’s numbers, this was 11 less year on year.
Twenty-one of the poker rooms in Nevada are located in the Las Vegas Strip area – offering just over 300 tables. Out of those tables on the Strip, the joint revenue collected was over $6 million – up 0.8% in comparison to last year.
The highest that Nevada poker rooms ever took in was in 2007 when they raked in $168 million. Since then, numbers have been on a steady decline year on year, barring the slight 0.56% rise seen between 2012 and 2013.
Looking at the greater picture where overall gambling revenue in the state was measured in March, the Gaming Control Board said that revenue dropped 3% compared to last year. Reasons for this drop include higher wins by players on slots and sports betting, as well as less players turning to high-roll games such as baccarat. While state casinos won $951 million in March 2015, that number dipped to $922 million in March 2016.
Revenue on the Strip was also down 4% to $487 million in March, while downtown Vegas casinos also saw a 4% drop.
Outside of Las Vegas, numbers were up slightly, with casino revenue from Reno reported to be up 1% and South Lake Tahoe revenue up 23%.
Slot machines contributed $617 million to Nevada revenue in March (a 3% dip year on year), while the lowest amount was spent on baccarat since April 2013. This is due to less Asian high-rollers frequenting Vegas casinos.
Due to lower revenues, the state also had to do with less taxation. Nevada collected $73 million in tax money based on winnings – an 8% drop compared to March 2015.
A senior research analyst for the Nevada Gaming Control Board, Michael Lawton commented on the numbers and said: “I think we expected a little bit more this month, but it didn’t happen.”
