Nevada’s gaming income dropped by 99.61% in April due to the coronavirus outbreak.
The state’s casinos reported a collective revenue of $3,646,658, compared to $936,465.930 in April 2019.
From the revenue, Nevada collected $19,107 in percentage fees, compared to $50.9 million in April 2019. It wasn’t the only month in 2020 to see a decline in winnings due to the virus.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board said casinos ‘won’ some $618 million in March, down 40% from the year before. Las Vegas casinos were forced to close for the first time in years due to COVID-19 in mid-March.
Gambling taxes make up around 18% of state revenue, while the hospitality industry as a whole makes up around 39%.
Casino tax revenue helps pay for state education, healthcare, parks, and the police force. Nevada currently has 457 licensed, nonrestricted casinos.
It is thought that small casinos in the state were losing almost $42,000 per day whilst closed, while larger strip properties with major casino hotels were waving goodbye to as much as $700,000 daily. The ‘burn rate’ varied based on whether companies were paying their employees through the closure period, or if staff had been furloughed.
Win figures for the state’s casinos are posted on the Nevada Gaming Control Board monthly. The largest properties pay up to 6.75% of their gross gaming revenue to the state to support various government functions.
Together, the 51 licensed properties on the Las Vegas Strip won $6.632 billion from players between March 1, 2019 and February 29, 2020. The figure equates to $18.1 million per day, and $355.288 for each resort when divided equally. There are 24 resorts which reportedly bring in an average win of $699,118 per property, per day through craps, poker, slots, and other casino games.
Minimal amounts of cash have thought to have been brought in throughout April from online sports betting. While all major leagues have been canceled, some operators are taking bets on offbeat sports such as sumo wrestling and ping pong to keep gamblers entertained.
Nevada casinos finally started to open on June 4, showing a potential end to the very slow couple of months. All casinos have had to introduce strict health and safety measures in order to protect guests and stop the spread of COVID-19.
This includes regular deep-cleaning and constantly swapping out chips, cards and roulette wheels to be sanitized.
Slot machines have been moved apart from one another, and protective screens have been placed at gaming tables to separate players and staff playing blackjack, roulette, and poker.
Most venues require guests to wear a mask at all times and undergo a temperature check before entering. Players must sanitize their hands regularly and stick to social distancing guidelines.
Las Vegas is even set to get a new ad in light of casinos reopening. The advert, titled ‘The Light’ demonstrates the relighting of Las Vegas in a bid to bring visitors back to the city. It carries the message: “We’re happy to see you again. We’re doing what we can to ensure you can do everything, without worrying about anything.
“Now let’s get back to the Vegas we know and love.” The television campaign closes with the tagline that Las Vegas is “Now Open.”
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitor’s Authority has not revealed how much the ad cost to produce. It instead announced that the 30-second video would run across a combination of large network and cable channels, including ABC, NBC, BET, and CBS.
