Nevada iPoker Down 7.62% In July Post-WSOP

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Friday, August 29th, 2014 | Written by Shane Larson

The 45th World Series of Poker gave Nevada’s iPoker industry a much needed boost in both May (+17%) and June (+20%), but with the tournament series drawing to a close on July 14th the state’s online poker revenues fell back 7.62% to $985,000 last month compared to the $1,037,000 generated in June.

When Nevada’s land-based casinos are included, state gambling brought in a total of $932 million for July, a 0.65% increase year-over-year compared to the $925.8 million collected in June. The state subsequently collected roughly 52 million in gaming taxes, down by 14.7% from the same month in 2013.

Vegas casino market avoids revenue drop

According to the Nevada Gaming Control Board, the Las Vegas Strip generated $536.2 million in July, accounting for 57% of the state’s total gaming revenues of $931.8 million. Although the state’s overall revenue increase of 0.65% could be viewed as a disappointment compared to June’s increase of 14.3%, which included a 22.5% gaming revenue jump on the Strip, there were concerns July could actually experience a fall in growth. Commenting on last month’s results, Macquarie Securities gaming analyst Chad Beynon, explained:

“While the comparison was relatively easy, the result squashed some fears that summer gross gaming revenue could fall.”

July’s revenue results also marked five consecutive months of growth for the Strip, and while slot machine revenue were up by 2% and table games up by 1%, Baccarat continued to drive Strip growth, with revenues up by 16% to $133.5 million, or a quarter of the Strip’s total revenues for July.

“Five consecutive months of strong baccarat play reaffirm our view of an inverse correlation between upside trends in Las Vegas high-end play and the relative weakness in Macau,” commented Union Gaming Group analyst Robert Shore.

Individual Nevada casino markets a mixed bag

Across the state, Clark County saw its revenues improve by 2% to $800 million, with its individual markets breaking down as follows: the Boulder Strip down 10% to $68 million, Laughlin down 0.7% to $39 million, downtown Las Vegas down 3% to $38 million, and North Las Vegas down 2% to $23 million.

Elsewhere, Reno casinos reported a 2% fall in revenues to $48 million, Sparks was up by 1% to $10 million, Tahoe’s South Shore dove was up by 23% to $25 million, while North Lake Tahoe rose 5% to $3.5 million. Finally, Elko County experienced a 10% decline to $20 million, and the Carson Valley area saw revenues fall 3.5% to $8 million.

iPoker revenues down 7.62%

Although iPoker revenues were down 7.62% to $958,000 in July, the results had a tough comparison as June marked a record-breaking month with its $1.037 million in revenues the highest ever recorded since Nevada’s first regulated site launched in April, 2013. The impressive revenues were as a result of the 6 week long annual World Series Of Poker, which finished half way through July but still provided the month with the second highest iPoker revenues on record.

Nevertheless, it was WSOP.com which mostly benefited throughout the competition by integrating and coordinating its website with the live tournament series, and so the decline in revenues noted in July came mostly as a result of a drop off in traffic at WSOP.com. Meanwhile, Ultimate Poker’s cash game traffic remained largely unaffected, while Real Gaming, still in its beta stage, continues to show negligible traffic.

The upcoming autumn and winter months traditionally represent the most popular times for online poker worldwide, and so the Nevada market will be hoping to keep up with global trends, while also benefiting further from the launch of an 888 branded online poker room targeted for Q4 2014, as well as a new Treasure Island branded poker room that will share players with WSOP.com on the All American Poker Network (AAPN) in Nevada. These developments are likely to increase Nevada online poker traffic and revenues to new highs, and drive business even further after AAPN sites in Nevada and Delaware combine liquidity in both states.

Tourism key for improving casino industry

Nevada’s two-month casino winning streak is as a direct result of a massive boost in tourism, with June and July posting their best visitor numbers ever and July’s visitor tally the third-highest ever on record with 3.5 million people having visited Las Vegas last month. So far this year, Las Vegas tourism is up by 2.2% to 24.2 million people over 2013, with a record 40 million visitors by the year’s end now a distinct possibility.