Casinos win record $1.43 billion in December as momentum on Las Vegas Strip builds

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Casinos on the Las Vegas Strip won more than $900 million from gamblers in December, pushing Nevada to a record $1.43 billion in winnings, according to the Gaming Control Board.

Fresh off a big month in November during the F1 Las Vegas Grand Prix, the Strip continued to sizzle as the Fontainebleau Las Vegas opened on Dec. 13.

Statewide: $1,432,633,317. That’s $28.6 million above the previous record set in July 2023.
The Strip: $905,404,652. That’s $70.5 million higher than the July record.
Clark County as a whole: $1,269,778,049. On the Strip’s strength, the county also posted a record.

Michael Lawton, senior economic analyst for the Gaming Control Board, called December’s results “truly remarkable.”

“This month’s results were driven primarily by the Strip due to high-end baccarat play and all-time record amounts of slot volume and slot win,” Lawton said. “Baccarat win on the Strip increased by $72.9 million and accounted for 61.4% of the total gaming win increase on the Strip.”

December also brought the opening of Durango Casino & Resort in the southwest Las Vegas valley, Station Casinos’ latest offering for the locals market.

Coming out of the pandemic, gamblers are losing more money in casinos. And it’s happening at times of the year that used to be slow in Las Vegas. Casinos would traditionally slow down, and production shows would “go dark” for weeks during the holiday season.

But New Year’s Eve on the Strip isn’t the only excitement anymore.

Now, November and December are drawing big crowds for events including F1 and the National Finals Rodeo. U2’s groundbreaking residency at Sphere continues to bring fans in, and the NBA’s in-season tournament is another big event that’s likely to generate interest in traveling to Las Vegas.

Lawton noted that concerts, Raiders home games and UFC fights stocked the December calendar with reasons to visit.

And overall, December has been trending up over the past 10 years, according to Lawton. Going back to 2013, December has ranked in the top three gaming wins for the year more than half the time.

The build-up to Super Bowl LVIII appears to be momentum for more good times ahead for casinos, and March Madness typically brings college basketball fans to Las Vegas.

Year-over-year growth in gaming wins shows the Strip and downtown Las Vegas both performing strong compared to 2022 levels. The Strip’s $905 million win was 11.2% higher than December 2022, and downtown was 10.3% higher at $75.8 million in winnings. Overall, the state beat December 2022 by 9.0%, according to the Gaming Control Board’s statistics.

Nevada is about 5.5% ahead of the pace it set for the fiscal year, which runs from July to June. The Strip is 8.5% ahead of the 2022 pace.

All that adds to tax revenues, which are about 6.2% ahead of the 2022 pace. So far in January (as of Jan. 30), the state has collected $84,924,974 — that’s more than 27% higher than the amount collected in January 2023.