Another month, another paltry turnout for gambling win for Nevada’s casinos.
February’s statewide win total of $772.4 million was down 25.9% compared to the same month a year ago when casinos took home $1.042 billion, according to new monthly statistics released March 25 by the Nevada Gaming Control Board.
Gaming Control Board analyst Mike Lawton said a 41.5% decrease in win on the Las Vegas Strip ($348.4 million in February 2021 versus $596.1 million in 2020) accounted for almost 92% of the statewide difference.
A big factor was the 56% decrease in Baccarat win, mostly due to the lack of international travel during the Chinese New Year. Casinos primarily on the Strip won just $51 million from that game.
Across the state, Game and Table win came in at $241.6 million for February, down 38.7% from February 2020, according to the Gaming Control Board report.
Part of the reason for February’s poor performance, the pandemic notwithstanding, Lawton said, is due to calendar this year having one fewer weekend day; also, 2020 was a Leap Year.
Those issues aided an 8.6% decline in Washoe County casino win, with Reno the primary problem — down 13.7% ($49.8 million in February 2021 vs. $57.8 million a year ago).
The Elko region also had a poor month, with Elko County casinos raking in $25.3 million in February 2021, down 8% from $27.6 million last year.
There were some bright spots, however, for the month of February.
South Tahoe casinos at Stateline had a strong month, winning $20.47 million, up 15.8% from a year ago. Slot win there was up nearly 30%.
Likewise, the Carson Valley Area, which includes valley portions of Douglas County as well as Carson City, did well, winning $9.35 million, a 6.1% increase from February 2020.
Lawton said next month’s numbers will be the first month that begins to dissect the pandemic’s impact on the gambling industry, as all casinos were fully shut down halfway through March 2020, causing a near 40% YOY reduction in total win compared to 2019.
Lawton said when looking at the average win since June’s reopening of casino floors, he expects March 2021 to be up significantly over March 2020.
