Baccarat Saved Las Vegas

In February, the NBA All-Star Game brought great athletes to the Strip, famous personalities and also huge crowds of visitors and worldwide attention. But the events didn’t attract too many gamblers.

According to the Gaming Control Board the winnings of Nevada casinos in February were $1.055 billion, a 2.9 percent increase from $1.026 billion a year ago. The analysts believe that the increase was the result of large wagers made by baccarat players, attracted to the Strip's casinos for the 10-day Chinese New Year celebration. Last year, the gaming revenue statewide increased with almost 13 percent more compared to the same period in 2005.

In February, the Strip gaming revenues increased with 4.3 percent more compared to last year and reached about $574.7 million. The most consistent wagers of about $1 billion were on baccarat. This means the bets increased with more than 50 percent compared to the same period of 2005. As a consequence, the total win of casinos from baccarat was $116.4 million, up $37 million or 46.9 percent from a year ago.

Frank Streshley, Senior Research Analyst for the Gaming Control Board mentioned that the baccarat players made an important contribution to the growth of the casinos revenue because without them the total Strip win would have been down 2.9 percent.

People from the gaming world, said crowds of basketball fans came especially for the NBA All-Star Game. They were not interested in the casinos' slot machines or table games. On the other hand, Deutsche Bank gaming analyst Bill Lerner considers that the baccarat attraction was a result of a negative impact of crowds in town for the NBA All-Star Game.

Casinos in downtown Las Vegas announced a revenue drop of 6.2 percent from $54 million a year ago, winning only $50.7 million this February.

Las Vegas hosted the NBA event for the first time this year. During its four days were included several preliminary games, a player-skills competition and a well-attended fan festival. On the same time the city was prepared for the start of the Chinese New Year and the three-day Presidents Day holiday. Because there were three events in such a short time, the town was practically invaded by visitors.

Casino operators said the participants to the NBA All-Star Game came in casinos’ restaurants and nightclubs, but they avoided gambling activities. Thus, slot machines revenue statewide was $634.1 million, down 2.1 percent from last February, while table games revenue was $408.4 million, up 11.5 percent due to baccarat. In total, customers spent more than $14 billion statewide in February.

Gaming analyst Dennis Forst of Key Banc Capital Markets said he hasn’t seen such a slot decline since 9-11 unpleasant incidents. Additionally, he underlined that other table games than baccarat have been monotonous.

On the other hand, gaming analyst Justin Sebastiano of Nollenberger Capital Partners mentioned that the baccarat game was a good sign for some casino operators. Therefore MGM Mirage generated about 80 percent of its revenue from the Las Vegas Strip. Also, Clark County announced gaming revenues of $901.8 million, a 3.7 percent increase from $870.1 million a year ago. Other casinos like those from Mesquite reported an increase up to 26.8 percent and the balance of the county an increase up 14.7 percent.

In spite of these weak numbers, Sebastiano believes that Las Vegas new offers continue to be absorbed and they will stabilize the gambling market.