LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Casinos took a record $1.46 billion from gamblers in December, a knockout punch that ended a five-month streak of lower gaming wins in Nevada.
The Las Vegas Strip posted its second-highest win ever, bringing in more than $881.2 million. The Strip accounted for just over 60% of the statewide gaming win, according to figures released Thursday by the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB).
Michael Lawton, NGCB senior analyst, pointed to Nevada’s statewide total win of $15.6 billion for all of 2024, an all-time record. It’s the fourth consecutive year that the state has posted a record, he said.
It’s a turnabout from earlier this month, when November’s win came in lower — the fifth consecutive decline stretching back to July.
Is it more of a relief or a surprise? “Pleasantly surprised considering last December was the previous all-time high and we were facing a difficult baccarat comparison,” Lawton told 8 News Now.
“There is not any structural softness that we are seeing. The declines we have been recording recently are due primarily to difficult baccarat comparisons that were driven by hold,” Lawton said. “The last six months, gaming win is down $158.3 million or 2.0% and it is entirely due to baccarat which is down 30.7% or $291.7 million during that period due to lower hold.”
Here’s a look at some of the totals that contributed to December’s record:
- Statewide: $1,461,092,483
- Las Vegas Strip: $881,254,710
- Clark County total: $1,288,158,549
- Balance of Clark County (includes off-Strip and neighborhood casinos): $161,107,408
- Boulder Strip: $87,815,319
- Downtown: $82,262,819
- Reno: $65,822,120
- Laughlin: $34,475,876
Lawton said calendar-year totals showed all-time records for Clark County, downtown, Mesquite, Balance of Clark County and the Carson Valley.
Last year, openings at Fontainebleau Las Vegas and Durango Casino & Resort fueled the record. But December isn’t always the month that brings the highest win for casinos.
“The top 12 months all-time are fairly random, three Decembers, three Novembers, three in July, one March, one February and one October,” Lawton said. “There are so many variables to consider what a month might deliver which include the number of weekend days, types of entertainment, conventions attendance and of course if baccarat has a lucky month you can throw all that out the window.”
This time, slot machines made the difference. “Slots increased $123.3 million or 14.4% which offset the decreases recorded in games including baccarat and sports wagering. The month did benefit from collections timing that had slot revenue roll into from the last weekend of November,” Lawton said.
The news comes on the same day that the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority reported a 2.1% increase in visitors for the calendar year. An estimated 41,676,300 people visited the city in 2024, including 3,405,700 in December. The record was set in 2016, when the LVCVA said 42.9 million visitors came to Las Vegas. On Wednesday, county aviation officials said Harry Reid International Airport set a new record for passenger traffic.
