Two Way Hard Three | Las Vegas Casino & Design Blog

January 11, 2008

Nevada Gaming Win Declines - US Economy Woes Spilling Over?

Posted by Hunter

Well, the gaming win in the great state of Nevada declined a good bit last time 'round:

http://www.vegastripping.com/news/news.php?news_id=1857&src=rss

Not good for our favorite multi-national casino conglomerates. It's hard not to link this to the degrading confidence in the US economy overall. Gaming is often somewhat insulated - people love to wager no matter how screwed they are - but of course there would be some kind of a hit if things go down big time in the US of A.


Categories: Business of Gaming, Caesars/Harrah's, Downtown Las Vegas, Las Vegas Strip, MGM Resorts International, Venetian/LV Sands, Wynn Resorts
Tags: gaming industry, las vegas, lasvegas, lasvegassands, mgm mirage, wynn


Comments

Read archived comments (5 so far)
January 12, 2008 7:39 AM Posted by detroit1051

"Table win percentage along the Strip was 13.05 percent, almost matching the previous year�s 13.0 percent. Slots were actually tighter, keeping 6.61 percent of play vs. 6.47 percent in 2006."
From Fantini's Gaming Report.

Strip casinos have direct control over slot win, and operators are gradually lowering slot payback percentages. It may be a smart short-term move, but as payback goes down, it becomes more in line with local casinos around the country, thus giving another reason for tourists to stay home and gamble at their neighborhood casino rather than flying to Vegas.

January 12, 2008 9:26 AM Posted by Brian Fey

I think news explains why Wynn took such a huge hit in its stock price on Friday afternoon, compared to its rivals. Now if this effects the quarterly earnings, remains to be seen. The edition to Wynn Macau might more than make up for the difference.

January 12, 2008 1:43 PM Posted by GregoryZephyr

It would be interesting to compare the airport visitor stats to see if traffic is down or is it just that the same number of visitors are spending less? I also wonder if the rising popularity of Macau is impacting the Asian high-roller segment.

January 12, 2008 2:36 PM Posted by detroit1051

I searched for McCarran passenger counts, and this Clark County site shows increases for the latest month reported, September, and for 9 months '07 compared to '06. YTD, total passengers up 4.6%. I have no idea about drive-in traffic.
http://www.accessclarkcounty.com/newsletters/sand_m/2007-Dec/Dec_McCarran.html

The link Hunter provided says baccarat play was down 61% in November. That surprised me because of the reports that said Asian high rollers were increasing because of the synergy between Macau and the Strip. It will be interesting to hear the next conference calls for MGM, WYNN and LVS.

August 26, 2009 5:41 AM Posted by detroit1051

Hunter began this topic in January, 2008. It's interesting and concerning how much things have changed since Hunter wrote, "...but of course there would be some kind of a hit if things go down big time in the US of A."
This week's report on the decline at McCarran and the following report on overall slot payback percentages show the impact on Vegas in 2008 and to date this year.
http://www.gamingtoday.com/industry-news/story.bv?storyid=22621