December 2020 Gaming Report Not Pretty
The absence of the National Finals Rodeo from Las Vegas resulted in an economic disaster for the month of December. The National Finals Rodeo, since 1985 a staple for Las Vegas in early December, was moved from the Thomas & Mack Center to Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, the home of Major League Baseball’s Texas Rangers, in September.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board reported, for the Las Vegas Strip, a 50.7 percent decline in gaming win revenue for the month, the hardest-hit market by percentage in the state. Clark County win plummeted 39.3 percent, and downtown Las Vegas was off 27.9 percent to $45.6 million. Statewide, win fell 35.4 percent to $683.7 million. It was a tough comparison with December 2019, one of the state’s billion-dollar win months.
December’s Revenue was the worst month for Nevada since August 1997 and the worst month for the Strip since December 1993. The following are gaming revenue comparisons to December 2019.
GAMING STATS for DECEMBER 2020: Clark County -39.3 / Las Vegas Strip -50.7 / Downtown Las Vegas -27.9
Sports pools won $40.6 million, up 11.7 percent from the previous year, and the drop, or amount wagered, was $588.4 million, up 3 percent from a year ago. Nevada sportsbooks held 6.9 percent of the drop compared with 6.4 percent last year.
Books took $352.1 million in bets on apps, winning $22.8 million. Apps were used in 60 percent of all sports bets for the month.
Las Vegas locals market also was down — but not as dramatically as the Strip or downtown markets. Local markets decreased 16.8 percent to $181.6 million for the month. Slot win decreased 19 percent from December 2019 with the slot handle decreasing15.7 percent year over year.