Las Vegas Sizzles as July Gaming Revenue Maintains Momentum and Leisure Visitors Return

July was a strong month for Las Vegas casinos, with data from the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) and Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) showing continued gaming revenue growth and signs of a leisure travel rebound.

The NGCB’s July revenue report reveals that Las Vegas Strip casinos won more than $776.3 million from players, 3.6% higher than the prior year. The month benefited from a strong blackjack result, up 39% year-over-year to $87.6 million, an 11% gain on craps to $31.7 million, and resilient baccarat volume and handle, up 2.2% to $116.6 million.

July marked the Strip’s fifth monthly gaming revenue gain in the past six months.

John DeCree, director of equity research at CBRE Global Gaming, said July would have been even stronger had baccarat players not been so lucky. Baccarat drop, or the amount bet, was up 43% year-over-year, but low hold limited house revenue.

Barry Jonas, a gaming analyst with Truist Securities, said total casino win on the Strip excluding baccarat was up 4% year-over-year. Jonas explained that the measure gauges the health of the mass market, as high rollers account for much of the baccarat play.

Clark County as a whole reported gross gaming revenue (GGR) of $1.17 billion, a 1.5% gain. Downtown Las Vegas weighed on the county outcome, as casino win fell almost 9% to $68.5 million.

Leisure Visitors Return

Las Vegas Strip casinos, per the LVCVA, saw more traffic in their resorts last month, as guest volume climbed 2.7% to approximately 3.17 million visitors. The summer is traditionally a slow period for conventions, but July was especially sluggish, with attendance down 5.6%.

DeCree said Las Vegas visitation is “showing signs of life,” with “some improvement in leisure demand offsetting the seasonally slower convention period.”

July helped push year-to-date (YTD) visitor volume into the black, up 0.5% during the seven months. The LVCVA says more than 22.75 million people have visited Las Vegas this year. The YTD result has been helped by a strong convention calendar, with volume up over 11% to 3.9 million conventioneers despite July’s struggles.

Casino hotel performance modestly improved versus last July, with occupancy reaching 77.2%, up 1.1%. Occupancy was higher on the weekends at 89.1%. The average daily rate for a Strip room climbed 1.7% to $167.40.

Spirit Continues Hampering Airport Business

The grounding of Spirit Airlines continues to negatively impact Harry Reid International Airport. Las Vegas’ primary airport reported 4.4 million arriving and departing travelers, 7.6% lower than a year ago.

Spirit served more than 446K fliers in and out of LAS last July. Las Vegas was a key base for the ultra-low-cost carrier that went out of business in early May.