Gaming revenue on the Las Vegas Strip fell 6 percent in the month following the October 1 mass shooting.
The first official numbers released since the massacre show revenue across Nevada at $988.7 million for October, up slightly (0.27 percent) against a tough comparison with October 2016, when statewide win grew by 11 percent and by 14 percent on the Strip.
“I think for the statewide numbers, we were pleasantly surprised that we came up slightly flat on the state side,” said Michael Lawton, a senior research analyst with the Nevada Gaming Control Board.
Speaking to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Lawton declined to frame the results in terms of any impact from the shooting, in which a gunman firing at an outdoor music festival from a suite atop Mandalay Bay killed 58 people and wounded more than 500.
“I’m not really going to speak to that,” he said. “We were facing a tough comparison and had a few days where things were off.” He added, “As for the Strip, you know, I guess you could look and say it could have been worse, considering what happened.”
Elsewhere in Southern Nevada the month was a strong one overall. Downtown Las Vegas beat last October’s results by 9.9 percent. North Las Vegas was up 11.6 percent. Revenues in Laughlin were up 2.3 percent, up 0.54 percent in Mesquite and 17.1 percent on the Boulder Strip.
The Reno market was up 3.2 percent compared with October 2016. Nearby Sparks was up 0.60 percent. In the rest of Washoe County, revenue was up 10.7 percent.
South Lake Tahoe was up 16.2 percent and up 0.13 percent in the rest of the Carson Valley area.
Another bright spot for the month was sports betting, which saw wagering statewide hit $566.4 million, beating the previous record set in September with the help of the largest handle for a World Series ever: $101.5 million.
