Another Billion Dollar Month for Nevada Casinos

2022 got off to a great start for casinos in Nevada. The amount generated went through the $1 billion mark in January. It’s a continuation of the success seen in Nevada’s casinos over the past year.

It’s the 11^th month in a row that the land-based casinos in Nevada have been at least $1 billion. The figure for the first month of 2022 was $1.1 billion and that’s a massive rise compared to the figures recorded for January 2021. This kind of growth is expected to be seen globally in the next few years.

The Nevada casino figures for January 2022 are over 40% more than those recorded in January in the previous year. On that occasion, the figures were an impressive $762 million but those results would probably be considered rather disappointing now.

Of course, at that time last year, the pandemic was still causing major problems.  It was better than in 2020 though when in March of that year, Las Vegas land-based casinos had to close.  That hadn’t happened since 1963 when the funeral of President Kennedy was held.

This led to more players going online. Gambling on the internet continues to grow in popularity. If that’s what you wish to do, it is a good idea to read a US online casino guide

The main share of the casino revenue in Nevada came from Clark County. That’s not particularly surprising because that county includes Las Vegas. The county produced revenue of nearly $929 million, that’s around 84% of the total win for the month.

Looking deeper into the figures, over half of the casino revenue that was generated in January came from the Las Vegas Strip. That contains some of the most famous casinos in the world and gamblers are now making their way to the Strip hoping to come away with some big wins.

The figure for the Las Vegas strip in January 2022 was over $567 million. That’s a big increase in the amount recorded for the first month of the year in 2021. This year’s figure is approximately 76% higher than a year ago.

Other areas continue to be in the shade of the Las Vegas strip. The next highest was the Boulder Strip which recorded revenue of $85 million. That’s followed by Downtown Las Vegas on $67.7 million and Reno with $52.3 million.

February saw the attendance levels at casinos increasing. It’s a famous place to go and get married and last month saw Las Vegas issue its five-millionth marriage license. At least now, those getting married were also able to celebrate in the land-based casinos.

January 2022 saw 2.474 million visitors to Las Vegas with hotel occupancy at 53.9%. You can see therefore while the revenue figures are so good. That number of visitors was up 91.2% up from January last year. There was still some way to fully recover though as that figure was 27.5% down from January 2019.

The fact that the land-based casinos are doing so well isn’t just good news for their owners. It’s also excellent news for the state of Nevada. That’s because of the revenue that they receive from the casinos. Around $81.2 million has been received and that’s an increase of 75% (around $35 million) compared to 2021.

That’s the second-highest amount that the state has collected since August 2021. It’s the fourth-highest figure in the 2022 financial year, only beaten by the amounts collected in July, November, and June. The total percentage fee collections for the financial year are around $652 million. That’s an impressive figure that is up 35% on the previous financial year.

Recent months have seen the state of Nevada recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic. This has seen a gradual easing of the restrictions that were in place. For example, early February saw the Nevada Governor, Steve Sisolak publish an emergency directive.

This included the lifting of the state’s mask mandate. The Governor announced that face coverings would no longer need to be worn in public indoor settings. This was followed by the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) informing licensees that gaming establishments won’t have to make their patrons and staff wear face coverings.

The Governor tweeted that “We are at this point now because as Nevadans we always look out for one another – that’s our Battle Born spirit and that’s the Nevada way.”

There had been a relaxation of the state’s mask policy last year. However, a surge in the numbers being infected by Covid-19 saw more stringent rules put in place.

While the casino business has been making a great recovery, there were still some customers who felt uncomfortable having to gamble while wearing face coverings. Hopefully, the relaxation of the rules will ensure that the casinos enjoy even more success in 2022.