Nevada has cause to celebrate, as gaming revenues in the state hit .003 billion, the first billion-dollar month since December 2013. The increase marks a 3.3 percent increase over May 2014, but the 1.2 million haul from casinos on the Strip is just an increase of 1.4 percent.
Analysts dismiss the paltry percentage increase, saying that the casinos were in a tough fight from the beginning, as May 2014 showed an increase of 8.2 percent statewide and 17.3 percent on the Strip. Union Gaming Group pointed to the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight for the revenue increase in a report.
“The increased visitor volumes during the fight weekend contributed to some of the uptick in slot and table volumes, suggesting the big fight played a significant role in the Strip’s performance in May,” the report said.
The big fight wasn’t the only big event, as just a few weeks later, the Rock in Rio event took place just a little north on the Strip. The 3.7 million tourists was also a record for any month, up 4.8 percent from last year. One large downside, however, came from baccarat, where revenues dropped 36.4 percent to $109.8.
Despite the dip in baccarat, slot revenue rose 8 percent to $601.4 million. On the Strip, it jumped 11.93 percent to $272.5 million, while sports book revenue skyrocketed 92.2 percent to $9.7 million, that number was as high as it was due to the big fight.
Downtown casinos got in on the good times too, showing $44.6 million in revenue, which was up 15.45 percent from the previous year. North Las Vegas shot up 14.96 percent while the Boulder Strip was also up 10.47 percent. The $62.8 million in taxes the state collected in May was up 14.26 percent.
