Las Vegas Strip Gaming Revenue Declines by 13% During February
Gaming revenue on the Las Vegas Strip plunged nearly 13% in February as analysts said a tourism slowdown was compounded by several one-time factors.
Las Vegas Strip casinos posted a February gaming “win”--the amount of money they kept after all bets were paid--of $337.9 million, down from $386.8 million in February 2000, the Nevada Gaming Control Board reported Tuesday.
Analysts attributed some of the drop to the slowing economy, but said several one-time factors also played a part.
The largest of those was the Chinese New Year--a holiday that attracts large numbers of Asian high rollers--which occurred in February last year but was in January this year. Additionally, last year included an extra day in February because it was a leap year.
“The reality is, there’s some explanation for it,” said Steve Kent, a Goldman Sachs analyst. “With that said, it’s still disappointing. It was down. Even if you put [January and February] together, at best it’s flat. It’s disappointing that there’s not much there.”
Brian Egger, an analyst with Credit Suisse First Boston, calculated that Las Vegas Strip revenues were flat to up slightly year on year in February when Chinese New Year, leap year and other one-time factors were accounted for. Still, he acknowledged the numbers were disappointing.
“It’s fair to say Las Vegas is experiencing decelerating visitor growth,” Egger said. “But we think the [comparable revenue numbers from last year] will get easier in the latter half of the year, hopefully when the economy firms up.”
Statewide, February gaming revenues were also down a more modest 7% in Nevada to $698.9 million, according to the Gaming Control Board.
The North Las Vegas market--one of the state’s most popular markets for local bettors--saw the biggest revenue decline, of 19.4% to $17 million.
Revenues were also down 5.2% to $48.6 million in the important Laughlin market and 6.9% to $52.4 million in the Reno market at the northern end of the state. In the last eight months, Nevada casino revenues were up nearly 2% to $6.4 billion, compared with $6.3 billion in 2000.
Stocks of Nevada casino market’s major players rose Tuesday. Harrah’s Entertainment gained $1.78 to close at $30.76; MGM Mirage rose $1.24 to close at $26.95; Mandalay Resort Group added $1.03 to close at $21.65; and Park Place Entertainment Corp. rose 40 cents to close at $10.45. All trade on the New York Stock Exchange.