Nevada gaming revenue declined for the second straight month in August, but the results weren’t uniform. I asked the Gaming Control Board why some regions do better or worse when the month ends on a weekend. Meanwhile, one of my favorite gaming executives is retiring.
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State gaming revenue totals are often skewed when a month ends on a weekend. There isn’t a uniform statewide requirement as to how casinos record the revenue from their slot machines.
A property’s leadership has a choice to record the winnings either that month or roll them over into the next month, which is what happened when Aug. 31 transitioned into Sept. 1.
The Boulder Strip, a region that includes casinos along the Boulder Highway and in Henderson, was a prime example of the conundrum. While gaming revenue statewide fell 3.8 percent to $1.6 billion in August, Boulder Strip casinos saw revenue decline 21.8 percent — three times higher than any other Nevada region.
“In individual markets, where certain properties move the needle more than others, this rollover can have a significant impact on the totals reported during the month,” said Michael Lawton, the Nevada Gaming Control Board’s senior economic analyst.
Boulder Strip/Henderson casinos, which are primarily operated by Boyd Gaming and Red Rock Resorts, reported $64.8 million in revenue in August, down from $82.9 million a year ago when the month ended on a Thursday.
Slot revenue accounted for 23.3 percent of the overall decline. Revenue from table games and sports betting was also down, but less than 10 percent. Slot machine wagering is recorded through meters on the games, so it was included in the August total of almost $1.1 billion, up 8 percent from a year ago.
August’s statewide slot machine wagering of $12.4 billion was the highest single-month total this year, Lawton added.
The Boulder market has changed. Two casinos, Fiesta Henderson and Eastside Cannery, never reopened after their pandemic closures in 2020. Red Rock demolished the Fiesta and sold the site to the city of Henderson for $32 million.
Boyd has yet to decide on the Cannery’s future but announced plans in July for Cadence Crossing Casino, a new property in Henderson that will eventually replace the aging Jokers Wild Casino on Boulder Highway.
August’s two extra weekend days factored into the results from other reporting Nevada markets.
Mesquite’s small casinos benefited from the extra days and a strong promotional calendar to see a 10.2 percent increase in gaming revenue to $14.2 million. Sparks casinos saw an 11.3 percent gaming revenue increase to $17 million.
Meanwhile, the calendar had nothing to do with the Strip’s gaming revenue decline of 3.5 percent to $643.6 million. Instead, it was attributed to a single game: baccarat.
High-end baccarat revenue fell almost 39 percent. Excluding baccarat, Strip gaming revenue would have been up 2.8 percent in August.
Wynn general counsel Ellen Whittemore to retire in January
Wynn Resorts general counsel Ellen Whittemore, who was instrumental in the company’s efforts to rebuild its corporate structure following the departure of founder Steve Wynn, will retire at the end of January.
“Ellen’s track record, including her reputation as a person of the highest integrity, was essential in working with regulators, our board, and employees during a time of transition and change,” Wynn CEO Craig Billings said in a statement last week.
Whittemore joined the casino operator in 2018 after numerous sexual misconduct and harassment allegations against Steve Wynn surfaced in January of that year with the publication of a Wall Street Journal article. Wynn ultimately stepped down and sold his company stock.
Whittemore was part of Wynn’s new management team that oversaw a transformation and refreshed culture for the casino operator in the year after allegations surfaced. The company added several new policies, many of directed toward sexual harassment prevention. A compliance committee was created with numerous procedures to prevent any harassment allegation from going unchecked.
Nevada gaming regulators, during a February 2019 hearing, acknowledged a “paradigm shift” that occurred within the corporation. The company agreed to pay a $20 million fine to settle a 10-count complaint.
“Ellen was, in the truest sense, the right person at the right time to help lead Wynn Resorts through a thicket of litigation and corporate governance changes,” Billings said.
Whittemore first started practicing gaming law in Nevada in 1986 when she joined the Nevada Attorney General’s Office. She spent parts of four decades in private law practice. Whittemore was elected to the American Gaming Association’s Gaming Hall of Fame in 2023.
Whittemore also served as chairwoman of the Nevada Resort Association’s board and was credited with guiding the state’s casinos out of the pandemic.
“As our industry pulled together to bring people back to work and focus on the region’s economic recovery, Ellen worked tirelessly, advocating for policies to speed the recovery,” Resort Association President Virginia Valentine said in a statement.
Jacqui Krum was named to replace Whittemore as general counsel. She is currently general counsel at the company’s Encore Boston Harbor resort.
Gaming industry has spent $471.8 million on responsible gaming since 2017
The U.S. gaming industry has increased spending on responsible gambling research and customer education by 72 percent since 2017, according to a study for the American Gaming Association. The figures were compiled by a major international accounting firm that the AGA did not disclose.
More than $471.8 million was invested in the last seven years to develop and maintain responsible gaming programs, consumer education, research and support services.
The Washington, D.C.-based trade organization, which designates September as Responsible Gaming Month, credited legal gaming operators with “fostering a safe and informed gaming environment.”
AGA Senior Vice President Joe Maloney said the industry, “proactively invests hundreds of millions of dollars more to ensure our customers have the tools, knowledge and safeguards to play responsibly.”
What I’m reading
🎰 Ex-regulator wants better protection for young adult gamblers, including uniform betting age — Wayne Parry, The Associated Press
David Rebuck, New Jersey’s former top gambling regulator with a nationwide reputation for strengthening oversight of the industry, has proposed a uniform age of 21 for all forms of gambling.
✅ Newsom signs new law backing tribes in high-stakes gambling fight — Ryan Sabalow, Cal Matters
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a controversial gambling bill that could lead to cuts to city budgets now that he’s given legal authority to tribes to sue card room operators.
💲 A tiny tribe is getting pushback for betting big on a $600M casino in California’s wine country — Olga R. Rodriguez, The Associated Press
The Koi Nation with the Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma plans to build a casino in Sonoma County. The tribes are awaiting U.S. Department of Interior approval.
News, notes and quotes
⚾ Pete Rose once appeared in a sports betting ad with Oscar Goodman
Baseball great Pete Rose, who was banished from the game for betting with illegal bookies on the sport, appeared in a television commercial in 2016 for a legal Las Vegas sportsbook operator. The ad promoting William Hill US’s mobile app, which included former Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, aired in Las Vegas following the Super Bowl. Rose, 83, baseball’s all-time hit king, died Monday in Las Vegas. Two years after the ad, sports betting became legal and is now available in 39 states. William Hill has since been sold to Caesars Entertainment. Rose, however, was never reinstated by Major League Baseball and could not be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
💻 Boyd buys the online gaming business from an Atlantic City casino
Boyd Gaming’s interactive division bought Resorts Digital, the online gaming arm of Atlantic City’s Resorts Casino Hotel. A purchase price was not disclosed. Boyd operates online gaming in New Jersey through the Borgata Resort. In a statement, Boyd called New Jersey “one of the nation’s leading iGaming states.” Boyd also operates online gaming in Pennsylvania. According to the American Gaming Association, online casinos in six states have produced $4.6 billion in gaming revenue through July, up 26.6 percent from 2023.
