Nevada Gaming Revenue Dips in November, Room Rates Plummet

Visitation and gaming revenue numbers across the Strip didn’t quite explode during this year’s running of the F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix. (Image: courtesy of F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix)

The November 2024 gaming revenue and visitation numbers are (finally) in. The data confirmed muted expectations around the second annual running of the F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix race. 

Vegas Strip casino operators had been lukewarm with their revenue projections and expected a slight decrease for the quarter. And with numbers reported now for the first ⅔ of Q4, they seem to be on track for mild disappointment. 

Monthly gaming revenue in Nevada for November 2024 was down 4.2% to $1.31 billion year over year, according to numbers released Thursday (more than a week later than usual) by the Nevada Gaming Control Board. 

State gaming revenue in November 2023, by comparison, was $1.37 billion, a record total for the month, thanks to the inaugural F1 race on the Vegas Strip.

Overall visitation in November was up slightly, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, who released their numbers last week. Hotel room rates, however, were down significantly compared to last year. 

November Gaming Revenue Drops

November revenue for Clark County, where Las Vegas sits, mirrored statewide numbers, with a 4.2% decrease to $1.16 billion.

As usual, the largest casinos on or near the Vegas Strip accounted for the majority of gaming revenue in the state. And these numbers were 3.9% lower in 2024 compared to 2023.

Downtown Las Vegas saw a smaller 2.7% revenue decline in November to $79 million.

Only the “balance of county” segment of Clark County saw an increase in gaming revenue, thanks again mostly to the locals-friendly Durango casino. This segment was 2.4% higher with $154 million in gaming revenue in November. 

(The next monthly gaming revenue report will be the first where Durango will have a year-over-year comparison.)

It might surprise many that the largest decrease in Clark County gaming revenue came from casinos on the Boulder Strip and in Laughlin, Nevada. These segments saw decreases of 15.5% and 20.6%, respectively.

Baccarat Slide Continues on the Vegas Strip

Baccarat was the top table game revenue generator for Vegas Strip casinos in November, bringing in $145 million. This was down 18.3% from November 2023. Between September and November 2024, baccarat revenue was down 27.1% from the previous year.

The largest table game decrease for the month, however, was in craps. The game generated $23.4 million in November, which was a notable 22.6% less than last year. 

Let It Ride was the only other table game to see a double-digit decrease in revenue.

Overall, slots revenue on the Vegas Strip saw a slight 2.7% decrease thanks to multi-denomination games. Other than nickels, every denomination of slot machine saw a double-digit dip during the month. The multi-denomination games that include bartop machines offset those decreases with a 13.6% increase compared to a year ago.

While table game revenue in downtown Las Vegas casinos was up 25.7%, slot machines were down 15.5%.

Sports betting revenue in downtown Las Vegas was up more than 64% compared to the previous year. This is something to keep an eye on for December and January as players remaining in the Circa Survivor contest may have hedged their contest play with large sports bets. 

(The eight winners in this contest, who all went 20-0 for the NFL season, shared a prize pool of nearly $14.3 million.)

Las Vegas Visitation Rises, Rates Fall 

These gaming revenue numbers, when considered with monthly visitation totals from the LVCVA, suggest people coming to Las Vegas in November were gambling a little bit less while here. 

Total visitation to Las Vegas in November 2024 was up 0.6% from last year to 3.3 million. 

The increase might’ve been even more, had the number of business travelers not been down as inconveniences related to F1 had many people staying home. 

The 2024 SEMA show was arguably a huge success with 160,000 attendees. But many smaller meetings and conferences stayed away from Las Vegas in November as visitors in town for conventions fell by 8.4% to 548,200.

Midweek hotel occupancy was down 2% in November to 76.9% since there were fewer people in Las Vegas for meetings and conferences.

November 2023 was a banner month for Las Vegas hotel room rates with the first Vegas Strip F1 race. The second race didn’t fare so well for hotel operators. While overall hotel room occupancy was down just 0.5%, rates - especially on the Vegas Strip - were lower than the initial running of the race.

It’s possible that roadwork and preparations could have impacted where visitors stayed. According to the LVCVA downtown Las Vegas hotel occupancy in November was up 4.6% to 72.2%. Hotel occupancy on the Vegas Strip was 84.3%, 1% lower than the previous year.

Vegas Strip hotel room rates saw a massive 21.3% drop from $270 per night to about $212. Downtown Las Vegas hotel room prices saw a much smaller 3.8% drop to $105 nightly.

Overall, the average hotel room rate in Las Vegas was $198.72 in November. Despite the 20.3% drop, it was still the second-highest ADR on record for November, according to the LVCA, behind November 2023.