As COVID-19 continues to be an issue across the US, the gaming industry in Nevada is still grappling with the effects of the virus. Tourism is increasing, but still down from the 2019 totals, which affects the earning totals. Revenues continue to decline, with reports for September showing a 39% decline on the Las Vegas Strip. While the southern portion of the state is not faring well, the northern region saw an increase in revenue earnings of over 36% for the month.

Statewide Totals

Across the state, total revenues fell by just over 22% in September, with $821.1 million in earnings. While the numbers are a decrease from the same month in 2019, it was the highest single-month total the state has seen since gaming resumed in June. The casinos were closed starting in mid-March as the COVID-19 pandemic took hold in the US.

When looking at the first nine months of the year, the revenues are down by 37.9% when compared to the same time frame last year. For the Strip, the drop in revenues continues. Starting in March with the closure, the Strip has seen a drop every month since. In September, the Strip was responsible for over 96% of the decrease in the state. The market is down 45% from January to September.

For Downtown Las Vegas, the revenue totals are also down. The market reported a drop of 21.4% for the month and a decrease of 37.6% for the year.

Northern Nevada Totals

While the southern portion of the state was in decline, the north saw a nice increase. Slot gaming totals were up, in both the bets placed and revenues earned, for Washoe County. Both Reno and Lake Tahoe are located in this market.

In the county, slot revenues saw an increase of over 6% with volume up 3.2%. Reno brought in $57.1 million in earnings, a 3.1% increase for the region. Overall, Washoe County was up 3.4%, earning $78.8 million in revenues.

South Lake Tahoe earned a more than 40% increase in slot gaming, which helped to push the total revenues up to $24.8 million. This was much higher than the $18.2 million earned in September 2019.

Visitation Numbers Increasing

In Las Vegas, visitation totals were up for the month. When compared to August, last month saw an almost 11% increase. However, the 1.7 million visitors were just over 50% less than the same month last year.

The market is heavily affected by the drop in airline travel. For McCarran International Airport, passenger totals were down almost 61%.