Let’s start of the Vegas news this week with a question.
Did you make a reservation for Las Vegas on Black Friday or Cyber Monday?
The question is just a curiosity. The deals were as good as I can remember in a while. I thought about getting a midweek room at the Cosmopolitan for a BOGO price but decided against it. Just over $100 plus taxes and fees for two nights at the home of my favorite bar on the Vegas Strip is a solid deal. If I’d had a winning session in any game on my long weekend on the Vegas Strip previously, maybe things would be different. We’ll get em next time!
October Was A Big Month For Gaming Revenue
We’ve been writing about fourth quarter promotions since Caesars Entertainment reported earnings in early November. Well, we might have an inkling to the effect of these promotions.
Nevada casinos won just over a billion dollars in October. That’s more than a 7% gain from the same period last year. In fact, October was the highest monthly gaming revenue in Nevada since February 2013, according to CDC Gaming Reports.
More important is that gaming revenue on the Vegas Strip had a huge increase in revenue. The Vegas Strip was up 12% over the same period last year. This bump was without the help of high rollers losing a boatload of money at baccarat. Casino win from blackjack was up a lot. That’s a good sign that American tourists were the driving force behind the increase in gaming revenue for casinos in Nevada.
Did this number jump up because visitors weren’t scared away because of a domestic terror attack? Possibly. Were people encouraged to visit Las Vegas because they had discounted or complimentary hotel rooms? Well, it got me to stay on the Vegas Strip for four nights so it’s possible.
McCarran Airport had its busiest month of all time
More than 4.4 million people visiting Las Vegas is a lot of people. I’m beyond curious to see how November and December perform with the big discount push. Yes, I’m looking forward to more casino operator earnings calls in January to see how the rest of the casino-resort business fared.
You can read more about gaming revenue from October here. There’s even a link to the Nevada Gaming Control Board data so you can nerd out on numbers like I do every month.
Quick Hits
There’s a lot of little news bites this week so we’ll hop right to the Quick Hits a little sooner than usual.
- This isn’t exactly new news. I’ve read about this since election day but haven’t gotten around to sharing it yet. Marijuana lounges might open on or near the Vegas Strip. Newly elected Tick Segerblom says “The goal is to get these pot lounges up and running, get marijuana out of our casinos and hotels…” That’s a nice goal but likely won’t do much since curious tourists lean towards edibles and smokers gonna smoke. That said, I’m sure some marijuana smokers would enjoy a place to hang out and enjoy marijuana outside of their house or hotel room. Read more here.
- Here’s a good one. Sin City is the most Sinful City according to WalletHub. Read more here.
- MGM Resorts International signed a partnership with Major League Baseball. The deal is similar to partnerships with the NBA and NHL with one exception. This deal extends to Japan which is going to be a big foreign market for MGM Resorts in the future. In time, the deal could create some very interesting prop bet opportunities with MGM’s access to Statcast data. Read more here.
- The Backstreet Boys made a lot of money during their Las Vegas residency at Planet Hollywood. Ready to have your mind blown? Read more here.
- No more cheap Megabus rates to Las Vegas from Arizona or California. Read more here.
- Marriott had a major security breach. Starwood members are affected too. Read more here.
- Vital Vegas checked out the renovations on the casino floor SLS. You can see pics here. The casino looks similar to how many have told me they prefer. We’ll see how visitation changes. The vibe of the renovations seems similar to Grand Sierra Resort in Reno. This is no surprise since they both have the same owner.
- There’s a new sports book director at Wynn Las Vegas. Read more here.
- Caesars Entertainment is closing Tunica Roadhouse in Mississippi this January. Read more here.
- The I Love the 90’s show featuring Salt N Pepa at Paris Las Vegas is taking an unexpected break until next year. Don’t be surprised if the show doesn’t return.
- Art Of The Wild is returning to Wynn between March 22-24, 2019. Read more about the three-day oontz fest here.
- Diana Ross is returning to Wynn for a limited engagement in February 2019. Read more here.
- In a week, we’ll know exactly which teams are playing in the Las Vegas Bowl. In the meantime, you can read bowl projections here.
- Penn National Gaming (Tropicana and M Resort) is going to have a credit card that ties in with their Players Club. Read more here.
- Hugh Jackman is coming to Las Vegas. People seem excited by this. Read more here.
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