Nevada Gaming Revenue Down in November
Gambling revenue in November was at its lowest in 2012 on both the Las Vegas Strip as well as in the entire state of Nevada, the Las Vegas Sun reported this week. The November numbers, compared with November of 2011, showed a decline of 11 percent statewide and 12.8 percent on the Vegas Strip.
The decline was seen across the spectrum of games and gambling options. Statewide, the revenue derived from sports books was down a whopping 151.2 percent, with baccarat down 17.7 percent.
On the Strip, sports betting saw a decline of 47.5 percent, with slots and baccarat faring little better, with 10.2 percent and 25.1 percent declines, respectively. Craps earnings were down 22.9 percent and blackjack 23.3 percent.
Elsewhere in the Nevada, Reno saw its casino revenue dip 3 percent to $38 million. The only winner in the Silver State was South Lake Tahoe, which reported a revenue increase of nearly 27 percent, to $18 million, during the month of November.
Any gambling-related revenue decline has the potential to be devastating to Nevada’s state and municipal budgets, as tourism, gambling, and conventions form the basis of the state’s entire economy. The state’s restaurants, bars, and other service-based establishments also rely heavily on the tourist and gambling trades.
Nevada’s powerful Democratic Senator and the Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid, has pushed hard for regulation of online poker at the federal level, an issue that has been vitally important to Nevada, which could position itself to emerge as a major player in the online poker industry should regulation go through.
Despite the failure of the Reid/Kyl bill, legislation that sputtered and died during the lame-duck Congressional session, Nevada is moving forward with offering online poker games at the state level.
A new bill has been proposed that would allow Nevada’s governor to negotiate intrastate online poker deals with other states that have regulated the game, which would essentially permit players to log on from beyond Nevada’s borders. Under the online poker law that was enacted last year, players must be located within Nevada when accessing an online poker room.
Several other states have passed or are said to be close to passing online poker regulation, among them Delaware and California. The state legislature of New Jersey passed a sweeping Internet gambling law at the end last year, which would clear the way for the state to begin offering online sports betting, casino games, in addition to online poker to its residents. This bill has yet to be signed into law by that state’s Republican governor, Chris Christie, who has until February 3rd to do so.
Reuters reported this week that gambling revenue in Atlantic City also declined in 2012, with numbers released this week showing an 8 percent decline there. Atlantic City casinos were already struggling due to competition from casinos in nearby states when it was hard-hit by Superstorm Sandy last fall.
While Sandy may have exacerbated Atlantic City’s problems, it was not the root of them, said David Schwartz, the director of the Center for Gaming Research at the University of Nevada Las Vegas.
“The city is still facing a lot of obstacles. Sandy had a negative impact, but it really only exacerbated the ongoing decline. It didn’t cause it.” Schwartz said.
