Las Vegas Visitation Holds Steady in September, Downtown Lags Behind the Strip

^{Visitation and gaming revenue in September were higher, with airfare and casino discounts like MGM’s all-inclusive deal at Luxor. (Photo: mk0x55 / Alamy)} 

Nevada and Las Vegas Strip gaming revenue in September was essentially flat compared to last year, according to the Nevada Gaming Control Board. Statewide, Nevada casinos won $1.28 billion in September, a minuscule 0.05% dip. Strip casinos won $693.5 million, a 0.82% increase that offset losses elsewhere.

More than 3 million people visited Las Vegas during the month, roughly level with the prior year, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. The slight increase was helped by stronger convention attendance.

While visitation is flat, higher airfare compared to last year continues to take a toll on Las Vegas. During MGM Resorts’ most recent earnings call, CEO Bill Hornbuckle repeatedly cited the 45% jump in airfare prices as a drag on business.

He said that while MGM can offer deals like its all-inclusive package, higher airfares partly cancel out the benefit.

According to Kayak’s Airfare Trends, a round-trip flight to Las Vegas costs $97 more than it did a year ago.

Visitation Mostly Flat in September and YTD

Las Vegas welcomed 3.097 million visitors in September, up just 0.2% from last year. The small bump was helped by a 1.8% increase in convention attendance. That’s 5,800 more visitors than a year ago. Visitation is down 0.1% so far this year, or 17,200 fewer people.

Hotel occupancy fell 0.5 percentage points to 78.1% for the month. Lower occupancy usually means lower room rates, which was indeed the case in September. The average daily room rate was $178.60, down 6.3% from $190.50 last year.

Despite a small increase in convention attendees, midweek hotel occupancy fell 1.3 percentage points to 73.1%. Strip hotel rates, which are often helped by convention-goers, sank 10.6% to $184.63 from $206.54 a year ago.

Downtown Vegas Doldrums

While the Strip saw a small dip in hotel occupancy, downtown was hit harder. Only 62% of rooms were occupied for the month, down 5.4 percentage points from last year.

So far this year, downtown occupancy is 4.5 percentage points lower than a year ago. For comparison, the Strip is off just 0.3 percentage points.

The average room rate in downtown Las Vegas continues to fall and was $95.94, down 2.9% from last year. While room rates around Las Vegas are up 1% this year, downtown rates are down 0.2%, with declines in each of the past few months.

On top of falling hotel occupancy and room rates, gaming revenue was also lower downtown in September. That matters for the area. While hotel rooms generate the most revenue for Strip casinos, gambling accounts for more than half of revenue downtown.

LV Gaming Revenue Mixed

Gaming revenue was mixed around Las Vegas in September. Strip casinos saw a small revenue increase of less than 1%, while downtown fell 7.45% compared to last year.

Table games at Strip casinos were off 3.02%, but a 2.99% increase in slot revenue offset the loss. These casinos collected less from blackjack, craps, and three-card poker while they saw increases in baccarat, roulette, keno, and bingo.

No games stood out on the Strip as especially good or bad for the month. Downtown was a different story.

Table game revenue downtown was down 15.48%, and slots were down 4.02%. A dip in table game revenue isn’t too surprising downtown. It’s down 13.84% over the past three months.

Golden Gate Hotel & Casino closed its live gaming pit on Sept. 7 last year, so last September’s total includes about a week of revenue from blackjack and other table games. October’s report will be the first full-month comparison for the area.

The only table games that generated more revenue downtown in September were craps, keno, pai gow poker and Ultimate Texas Hold’em.

The surrounding areas fell slightly. Boulder Strip casinos, including Henderson, saw revenue slip by 0.13%. The balance of Clark County, which covers casinos outside the main Las Vegas-area markets, collected 3.01% less than a year ago.

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