Nevada casinos raked in a hefty $1.27 billion from eager gamblers in January, marking a slight step back from the previous month’s record-breaking figures. The report comes amidst a flurry of activity in the entertainment capital, sandwiched between the grand openings of several resorts in December and the highly popular Super Bowl LVIII hosted in Las Vegas on February 11.

The Last Vegas Strip Records First Decline Since June 2023

While December boasted an impressive $1.43 billion in casino wins, January saw a dip, failing to clinch a spot in the top 10 highest gaming wins on record. Notably, the iconic Las Vegas Strip, typically the powerhouse driving the state’s economy, experienced a downturn with earnings totaling $686.2 million, significantly lower than December’s record-breaking $905.4 million haul.

Michael Lawton, senior economic analyst for the Nevada Gaming Control Board, noted that the decrease in January marked the Strip’s first decline since June 2023, thus breaking a streak of six consecutive increases.

Lawton attributed the decline to various factors, including the disruptive construction associated with the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix in November and December, prompting some tourists to postpone their visits until February for the Super Bowl festivities. Additionally, the timing of the Chinese New Year influenced visitor patterns, impacting January’s results.

Despite the Strip’s setback, other areas such as downtown Las Vegas, the Boulder Strip, and off-Strip locals’ casinos witnessed a resurgence from December’s figures. Notably, properties in the “Balance of Clark County” category recorded a record-breaking $169.3 million in earnings, buoyed by the recent opening of Durango Casino & Resort in early December.

Slot Machines Fuel Nevada’s Gaming Growth

The state remains on solid footing, boasting a 4.77% increase over the previous year’s performance, with the Strip outperforming at 6.78%. Slot machines emerged as a driving force behind the off-Strip surge, contributing $135.8 million to the overall earnings.

Comparing January 2023 to the present, Nevada saw a modest 0.51% improvement, while the Strip lagged behind by 3.79%. However, the shortfall was compensated by robust performances in Reno, where earnings soared by a staggering 55.0% compared to the previous year, partly attributed to favorable weather conditions that bolstered casino foot traffic.

With February’s figures expected to receive a significant boost from Super Bowl activities, Nevada’s casinos are poised to maintain their winning streak, surpassing the $1 billion mark for the 36th consecutive month.

Meanwhile, the state’s percentage fee collections for February reached $99.7 million, marking a 3.74% increase over February 2023, indicating continued resilience in the gaming sector despite fluctuations in performance on the iconic Las Vegas Strip.

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This is not necessarily bad, as Gov. Phil Scott now anticipates seeing much more significant revenue from sports gambling than initially thought. Uptake has been strong in the weeks since January 11, 2024, when the activity got underway with an appetite for placing a wager soaring in The Green Mountain State.

Bigger Buck for a Minnow State

Vermont is also a small state and a minnow by any meaningful standard, but an early estimate of $1 million in tax revenue from sports gambling may be a little short of the actual figure, which hews closer to $3 million based on updated figures by state officials.

“They believe that six months of this fiscal year will produce a bit more revenue than we had originally forecast,” Adam Greshin of the Budget and Finance Committee said. The state’s sports betting state is rather barren split between DraftKings, FanDuel, and Fanatics being the three licensed entities in the state.

BetMGM and ESPN Bet did not gain admittance into the state just yet, and only three candidates have been chosen. They are unlikely to do so any time soon, as Vermont has only wants three licenses running for the time being. Just like revenue expectations, though, this may change. Vermont is also benefiting from initial licensing fees, which cost operators $500,000 along with a fee that decreases annually per operator. The gambling age is 21 and the collectible tax is 20%.

In the meantime, affiliate betting companies have too entered the market, with Catena Media determined to maintain a healthy presence locally.

Sports Buffs All Over Vermont

The adjusted projections in terms of sports betting tax come against an interesting backdrop. Vermont, for example, does not have an official professional sports team, but locals are passionate sports fans all the same, supporting many prominent franchises, including the Patriots, the Celtics and Bruins, the Red Sox, and others.

Vermont has been able to launch sports gambling just in time for the Super Bowl, the NFL Playoffs, and ahead of March Madness which is due to commence in several weeks.

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Genting Berhad, the Malaysian gambling and hospitality conglomerate, has announced it has received up to five bids – each with asking price of $1 billion and more – for its prime waterfront property in Miami. This could be the highest price ever paid for any development property in the United States. 

Genting put up its 16.5-acre property situated along Biscayne Bay, Miami, in November 2022 and has since received multiple offers for it with the bidders ranging from international and domestic parties. The company purchased the property in 2011 for $236 million in hopes of securing a gaming license in Florida, but it could not. 

The company’s failure was purportedly due to the hold of the Seminole Tribe on gambling in Florida preventing other players from entering the market. Genting had plans to build a Resorts World Miami casino complex that would feature four-hotel tower complex with 5,200 rooms and a 3.6-acre lagoon.

READ: Best USA online casino sites in 2023

With its efforts to acquire a gaming license proving futile, the property remained undeveloped and was the site for the Arts Miami and Context fairs. This was till it announced it had put up the property for sale. 

Many bids were sent in for the property and none of the bids were less than $1 billion. Michael Fay – an executive at Avison Young Miami, the which has the listing – told Bloomberg in an interview: “If we get what we hope to achieve, this could be the highest price paid for any development site in the country.” 

Reports say the company will direct the gains from the property sale towards securing a prized casino license in New York through its U.S. subsidiary. Genting is one of the many operators racing for one of the three available downstate gaming licenses in New York.

The company could also use the profit to fund its Asian operations and maybe try its hand again at breaking into the Macau market after it failed last year. Also, its Resorts World Catskills and Resorts World Las Vegas properties could benefit from the proceeds of the sale. 

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