Las Vegas Strip GGR down 3.3 pct in April

Jun 01, 2017 Newsdesk Latest News, Top of the deck, World  

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Casino gaming revenue on the Las Vegas Strip dropped 3.3 percent year-on-year to US$475.4 million in April, according to data disclosed on Wednesday by the Nevada Gaming Control Board.

Win for baccarat, a favourite game for Asian gamblers, stood at US$76.7 million. Such win – the amount of money retained by casinos after payment of prizes – fell by 27.0 percent year-on-year.

Table games win on the Las Vegas Strip in April declined by 10.6 percent year-on-year to US$215.2 million, while slot machine win went up 3.7 percent to US$260.2 million.

John DeCree, an analyst at Union Gaming Research LLC, said in a Wednesday note that the result was negatively affected by “a difficult hold comparison and the unfavourable timing of Easter compared with the prior-year period”.

“Additionally, it’s important to note that the T-Mobile Arena opened in April of last year. Despite these challenges, we see the performance on the Strip as better than expected,” said Christopher Jones, an analyst from the Buckingham Research Group Inc, referring to a non-gaming entertainment facility on the Las Vegas Strip.

Mr Jones noted however that baccarat volume on the Las Vegas Strip in April went up by 0.5 percent, which he described as a “positive trend… as the gaming market continues to recover”.

Carlo Santarelli and Danny Valoy, research analysts from Deutsche Bank Securities Inc, said the Las Vegas Strip revenue result in April was “relatively solid given the US$28-million headwind stemming from baccarat hold, as domestic tables and slots were a combined +3.3 percent year-on-year”.

Nevada statewide, gaming win was US$886.5 million in April, up by 1.2 percent on the prior-year period.

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