The Las Vegas Strip in September recorded its first decline in gaming revenue since May due to a large drop in baccarat hold, but locals casinos continued to thrive.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board reported Wednesday that Strip revenue fell 5.4% from $727.6 million a year ago to $687.8 million in September. That contributed to statewide gaming revenue falling 2.2% to $687.8 million, down from $727.6 million.
The Strip’s decline was in contrast to casinos serving Las Vegas neighborhoods, where revenue increased by 2.2% in September.
The fall in Strip revenue came despite slot handle being up 13.2%. That contributed to a 2.9% increase in slot revenue to $437.4 million.
The reason for the Strip decline was a 42.7% fall in baccarat revenue to $50.7 million. That happened despite the drop being up 15%. The hold fell from 17.1% a year ago to 8.5% in September. In August, a 51% increase in baccarat revenue was attributed to a high hold. If baccarat were excluded in September, Strip revenue was down 0.3%.
Non-baccarat table revenue on the Strip fell 6.9%, due to lower hold, despite an increase in drop.
Elsewhere in Las Vegas, the Boulder Strip had $83.3 million in revenue, up 3.6% from $80.4 million a year ago. Downtown Las Vegas had $89.2 million in revenue, down 1.9% from $91 million a year ago. North Las Vegas fell 0.65% to $23 million.
Around southern Nevada, Laughlin reported a 3.6% increase in revenue from $80.4 million to $83.3 million. Mesquite had $15 million in revenue, a 6.3% increase over the $14.1 million a year ago.
In northern Nevada, Reno had $75.6 million in revenue, a 5.2% increase. Sparks recorded $14.2 million, a 10.1% decline from $15.8 million a year ago.
North Lake Tahoe had a 1% decline from $2.2 million to $2.24 million. South Lake Tahoe recorded a 10% increase, from $21.3 million to $23.5 million.