Last month, Nevada casinos took in $1.29 billion, a 1.65% decrease from March 2023 and the first monthly fall for the Silver State gaming industry over the previous year in eight months.

On Thursday, the 316 casinos and gaming license holders in the state were given access to gaming income figures by the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB). While the statewide table win increased by 2.5% to $415.9 million, the record performance made by slots in March 2023 was not met by the slots. 3.5% less than their monthly all-time high of $906.5 million, which was reached in March 2023, was won by the reels with $874.5 million.

Play slowed 1.2% to $715.8 million on the Las Vegas Strip, the state's most important metered market. At $401.4 million, slots on the main drag brought in 5% less money from players. 

While the table felt helped to somewhat offset those losses, the 4% rise to $314.4 million was insufficient to make up for the decreased slot hold.

With favorites UConn and South Carolina winning the men's and women's NCAA basketball tournaments, respectively, the public's picks did not perform as well as the oddsmakers' picks. With a dismal 3.8% win percentage, sportsbook earnings dropped 32% to roughly $29.8 million.

First Quarter Continues to Be Positive

The Nevada casino sector is still expanding, according to the March 2024 report, despite the monthly gross gaming revenue (GGR) reduction from the previous year. GGR reached almost $3.9 billion through the first quarter, representing a 2.35% premium year over year. 

The three-month rise was driven by table play, which contributed $1.32 billion of the total win—a 6% increase from Q1 2023. Slot machine revenue increased by a negligible 0.4% to $2.58 billion. The amount won from sports betting, which the NGCB includes in card revenue, increased by 5% to $142.4 million.

Despite not being as wealthy as March 2023, Nevada continued its trend of winning at least $1 billion per month for 37 consecutive months with its approximately $1.3 billion haul in March 2024. Prior to the extraordinary $1 billion+ run, the longest monthly GGR streak in the history of the Nevada casino industry—which occurred between October 2006 and May 2007—was just eight months long, with wins reaching double digits. 

The majority of markets saw increases in revenue during the first quarter. South Shore Lake Tahoe saw a win gain of 4.5% to $55.4 million, while Washoe County—home of Reno—saw a 12% increase to $246.9 million. Strip GGR increased by 2.5% to $2.2 billion.

A few markets saw losses, with Downtown Las Vegas seeing a 3% decline in GGR to $238.2 million. The gross gaming revenue (GGR) in Elko County dropped by 2% to $99.2 million, while the casino win in Nye County decreased by 4% to $17 million.

March Transportation Sturdy

Even while casino revenue may have decreased slightly last month, Southern Nevada tourism was still quite high. Officials at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas disclosed on Thursday that the main aviation hub serviced more than five million passengers, a 2% increase from March 2023.

 More than 13.7 million passengers arrived and departed at Harry Reid Airport in March, representing a 1.7% increase in aviation traffic year to date.

Later this week, the Las Vegas conference and Visitors Authority will make public its March report, which will include further information on the gaming and tourism sectors in Southern Nevada. This information will include information on hotel occupancy rates, overall visitor traffic, and conference attendance.