While the jury is still out on whether or not Las Vegas is on the rebound many claim, there is no denying how strong April was for the city. Gaming and conventions experienced big wins, and even with hotel numbers slightly down, a confidence boost is given to the industry, which has recently been dealt some negative views from gaming mogul Steve Wynn.
According to the Gaming Control Board, Nevada casinos hauled in $897.9 million in April, up 5.9 from April 2014. Gaming win on the Strip was a healthy $498.9 million, up 7.77 percent from April of last year, helped from a 5.33 increase in baccarat to $95.2 million.
Downtown gaming numbers grew 12.56 percent from April 2014, to $49.6 million. Laughlin grew 0.12 percent while Mesquite grew 1.41 percent. North Las Vegas casinos took a hit, dropping 0.44 percent, and Boulder Strip revenue slipped 8.3 percent. Washoe County casinos were down 1.56 percent, bringing in $57.4 million, while Reno showed $42.3 million in revenue, down 2.74 percent. Nevada had a nice pay day, bringing in $53.4 million in taxes on the month, which was a spike of 11.58 percent from 2014.
This April marked the best April in visitation numbers Southern Nevada has ever seen. The 3.5 million visitors was an increase of 2.4 percent from the year before. The numbers were boosted by an insanely strong month for conventions, in which the 501,392 convention attendees marked a 26.8 percent from last year’s April.
The average daily rate for hotel rooms increased a steady 1.7 percent in April to $118.51. Rates on the Strip boosted up 2.3 percent to $127.77 while downtown rates dropped 21.1 percent to $56.30 per night. Given these numbers, it should be no surprise that passenger numbers at McCarran International Airport grew 4.4 percent to 3.8 million.
