Casinos located on Fremont Street in Las Vegas and other parts of the downtown area posted a second straight year of gaming revenue growth.
Downtown Las Vegas gaming revenue grew by 3.1 percent during fiscal year 2015, more than tripling the 0.83 percent growth reported in 2014.
The reported growth during 2014 occurred during the second half of the fiscal year, which runs from July through June, Nevada Gaming Control Board Analyst Michael Lawton told Vegas Inc. The first half of the fiscal year actually saw a drop in revenues, he said.
Boyd Gaming, which owns the Fremont, California and Main Street Station downtown casinos, reported four straight quarters of revenue growth from its downtown casinos and cited general improvements in the downtown area among reasons for the business uptick, Vegas Inc. reported.
Downtown gaming in Las Vegas enjoyed its best year in 1992, when downtown casinos cleared $703 million versus $511 million in 2015, the UNLV Center for Gaming Research reports.
Since 1992, the number of downtown casinos decreased from 30 to 20, while many new resorts opened on the Las Vegas Strip and drew many prior loyal customers of downtown casinos, like the Golden Nugget, UNLV gaming center Director David Schwartz told Vegas Inc.
Schwartz also cited the growth of tribal casinos across the nation among reasons downtown gaming decreased over the years.
Among reasons for the recent resurgence are new investments in downtown entertainment venues, revamped casinos, and general economic improvements.
