Poker rooms on the Las Vegas Strip reported revenue from cash games rake of $8.11 million during February, according to official data released Wednesday by the Nevada Gaming Control Board. This is a slow, but steady increase of 2.1 per cent from February 2017, while total gaming revenues in casinos on The Strip showed a solid growth of 11.4 per cent to $603. 5 million.
The number of active poker tables in the U.S.’s gambling hub greatly fluctuates depending on the season. Still, statistics from the state’s Gaming Control Board reveal that in February, there were almost 470 poker tables. There were also 39 poker rooms in Clark County, Nevada, where Las Vegas is located. They collected rake of $8.11 million last month, while their annual revenue in the year to February 2018 was $107.76 million. This is up 1.5 per cent compared to the 12-month period in the previous year.
The state was home to 590 tables across a total of 64 poker rooms in February. They generated $8.96 million in revenue, a year-over-year increase of only 1.4 per cent. It does come as no surprise that around 90 per cent of the Nevada poker revenue comes from Las Vegas. According to the data released Wednesday, there were 18 poker rooms on the Las Vegas Strip or in the area and they had 276 poker tables. They raked $5.62 million in February, up 0.7 per cent compared to the same period in 2017. In the year to February, poker rooms on the Strip raked $78.38 million, a slight increase of less than 1 per cent.
The report by the Nevada Gaming Control Board also shows that poker revenue in the state has reported almost constant growth – it increased in nine of the past ten months, with an almost insignificant decline of less than 0.1 per cent in January to $9 million.
Poker vs. Baccarat Contribution to Total Gaming Revenues
While almost all poker revenue in Nevada is generated by poker rooms in Las Vegas, the city is not such a large contributor to the total gaming revenues in the state. Statewide gaming win was $1.017 billion in February and around $603 million of this (or 59 per cent) came from Las Vegas. Moreover, the annual gaming win on the Strip was down 0.09 per cent, making it the only region in the state with a negative revenue growth. In comparison, overall revenues for casinos in Downtown Las Vegas were 6.3 per cent in the year to February.
Another interesting fact revealed by the latest statistics is that poker accounts for less than 2 per cent of the total gaming revenues in Las Vegas. Baccarat, on the other hand, seems to be driving the revenue growth on the Strip, at least according to February figures. The 355 baccarat tables generated $176.3 million in winnings last month, a whopping increase of 82 per cent compared to revenues for the same month in 2017. This reveals an alarming trend for the poker industry in Las Vegas – it is still not competitive enough and it is literally dwarfed by baccarat games, which are apparently more popular than poker.
