Michael Lawton, Senior Research Analyst for the Nevada Gaming Control Board, highlighted that the Strip had a particularly strong October a year earlier in 2016 when GGR was 14% up. “Of course, this is in addition to the events which occurred on October 1,” Lawton said.
“We aren’t surprised the Strip was down 6.1%. The decrease on the Strip was driven by decreases in both slot volume, down 3.8%, and game and table volume, down 6.5%. Still, overall the trend line remains intact as the Strip is up 2.6% for the calendar year to date with much softer comparisons ahead for November and December,” Lawton added.
The more local market of Downtown Las Vegas casino revenue was up 10% during the month.
Despite McCarran International Airport reported its busiest month in its history with 4.3 million passengers coming through in October, visitor levels to Las Vegas actually dropped by 4.2% after the October 1 shooting.
Kevin Bagger, Executive Director of research for the LVCVA, said the decline was due to the shooting.
“The shooting did have some effect on the leisure side, specifically the leisure drive side, because at the same time we had strong convention business,” he explained. “The decline was on the drive side, and that’s because it is easier to cancel a drive trip as opposed to air trip.”
Source: GMB
