Nevada’s casino industry set a record after it was reported that Silver State casinos won $1.32 billion from gamblers in November, according to numbers released Wednesday by the Nevada Gaming Control Board.
It marks the ninth consecutive month with at least 10-figures worth of gross gambling revenue, which broke the eight-month record set between October 2006 and May 2007. November nearly set two records as the $1.32 billion was just shy of the $1.36 billion single-month record set in July.
The streak started in March with $1.06 billion in revenue. It was the first time the Nevada market touched the $1 billion mark since the pandemic began and came as Gov. Steve Sisolak began easing capacity restrictions he initially put on the industry when he began to reopen casinos following the forced shutdown a year earlier.
November’s numbers represent an increase from October’s $1.22 billion and a 71% jump year-over-year.
Through the first 11 months of 2021, casino operators have won $12.3 billion from gamblers. That figure already makes 2021 the third best year in the history of the market and with December’s numbers yet to be reported, it’s a mortal lock to pass the record $12.8 billion in 2007.
The streak began with a resurgence from Las Vegas Strip properties and that trend continued in November. Operators on the 4.2 mile stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard won $755 million, which is a 115% year-over-year increase. Casinos in the greater Clark County, which encompasses Downtown Las Vegas and the surrounding suburbs, made up nearly the entirety of the state’s reported revenue, winning $1.16 billion.
While gambling revenue is much higher than it was in the pre-pandemic era of Nevada gaming, the tourism industry is still struggling to gain traction. According to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, there were more than 3.1 million people that made the trek to Sin City, which is an 8.2% drop from October’s numbers and an 11.3% dip from November 2019.
Every region in the state saw year-over-year increases. Outside of the Strip, which experienced the largest gain, Downtown Las Vegas casinos saw the biggest revenue jump with a 56.27% increase with $82.85 million in revenue. Other markets likely saw smaller gains than the Strip because those properties tend to cater to local gamblers, which returned to the casinos earlier than the tourists.
Nevada sportsbooks also set records in November, by reporting a win of $72 million, which broke the previous single-month mark of $61.8 million set in November 2020. It was also the second consecutive month where operators accepted more than $1 billion in sports bets.
Nevada Gaming Control Board senior analyst Michael Lawton told multiple media outlets that the increase in revenue is directly correlated to the increase in the use of mobile betting apps. It follows a trend seen most clearly in other large betting markets like New Jersey where most of the total sports betting handle came from online betting.
“The continued acceptance of mobile sports wagering by customers is driving these results,” said Lawton. “This month represented the highest monthly total recorded in mobile [bets] since the board began tracking these wagers in January 2020.”
