Nevada casinos had their second-best win performance in history in January, the Nevada Gaming Control Board reported Thursday.
And that came a month after recording their best month ever.
Nevada and Strip casinos also had their highest percentage win increases in months in January.
Strip win — the amount casinos won from players — was up 22.5 percent to $840.1 million, boosting the state’s win by 12.5 percent to $1.43 billion for the month.
Clark County win was up 13.3 percent to $1.26 billion, but downtown Las Vegas win dipped 2.3 percent to $83.7 million.
Baccarat was the difference-maker in January results as casinos played luckier than gamblers.
On the Strip, baccarat win totaled $214.3 million, up 121 percent from January 2024. Volume was up 35.8 percent to $801.3 million. But this year, the casino hold was 26.74 percent compared with 16.43 percent in 2024.
Table games and sports betting followed similar patterns, and slot machine win was up, but not as dramatically as baccarat.
Of the 20 statewide markets monitored by the Control Board, seven had double-digit percentage increases and 17 were up from January 2024.
The Strip percentage increase was the highest, but South Lake Tahoe was close behind with 22.4 percent increase to $22.3 million.
Elko County also was a big winner in January with Wendover up 14.3 percent to $22.4 million, with the entire county up 13 percent to $32.7 million.
The results boosted Nevada’s 2024-25 fiscal year total into positive territory. For the seven months since July 1, state gaming win is now up 0.03 percent to $9.28 billion.
The increases also turned around the fortunes of state tax coffers. For the first time since the start of the fiscal year, gaming percentage fees are ahead of the 2023-24 fiscal year. Based on tax collections as of Wednesday, the state’s casinos have generated $688.6 million in percentage-based gaming fees for the general fund, up 0.58 percent from the previous year.
The state has a 6.75 percent tax on casinos’ gross gaming revenue.
Michael Lawton, the Control Board’s senior economic analyst, theorized that January 2024 gaming numbers may have been softer than normal because typical Las Vegas visitors may have held back travel until February to be in the city for Super Bowl 58 instead. He also noted that this year, New Year’s Day fell at midweek and many travelers extended their stays to four or five days, while New Year’s Eve 2023 fell on a Sunday and travelers were satisfied with a three-day weekend.
Lawton also noted several special events in Las Vegas in January, including two nights of Janet Jackson performances at Resorts World Las Vegas, The Killers performing at Caesars Palace’s Colosseum three nights, the Eagles residency at the Sphere Jan. 17-25 and Mariah Carey starting a residency at Park MGM on Jan. 31. In addition, there was a home Raiders game at Allegiant Stadium against the Los Angeles Chargers in January.
State finances will be at a disadvantage this year because 2025 has 365 days compared with 366 in 2024.
“January 2025 represents the second-highest win total all-time and the 47th consecutive month that the state has recorded $1 billion in monthly gaming win,” Lawton said.
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority is expected to report January visitation later Thursday.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on X.
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