Las Vegas strip on upswing while US casino industry struggles

Silver State casinos raked in US$ 11.14 billion in 2013, which was a 2.6-percent increase over 2012. It was the largest amount since 2008, according to UNLV research. Even though it’s just a 4.2 mile piece of road, the Las Vegas Strip accounted for roughly US$ 6.5 billion of the state’s overall gaming revenue from January to December of 2013. This year, Strip revenues are continuing the upward trend, and it will likely see its fifth-straight year-over-year gain.

Roughly 265 casinos in Nevada helped generate the US$ 11.14 billion, making it the undisputed home to U.S. casino gaming. As of the beginning of 2013, there were 979 land-based, riverboat or racetrack casinos in the United States. That figures includes both commercial and tribe-owned casinos, which are considered distinct from one another. That figure is the most recent provided by the American Gaming Association, the top commercial casino lobbying group on Capitol Hill.

Some local markets are expanding, while others are contracting.

Commercial casinos are closing in Mississippi and New Jersey, two of the top gaming markets in the country outside of Nevada. However, another casino is coming to Philadelphia, four gambling facilities are on their way in Massachusetts, including one in the Boston area, a handful of commercial carpet joints are in the pipeline for the Empire State, and two mammoth casinos, including one in Baltimore, are inching closer to taking bets in Maryland.
Casino capital is searching for ways to ensure self-perpetuation, even if that means reducing the gambling supply in markets that were once strongholds and increasing it elsewhere.

A total of US$ 62.84 billion was won from gamblers at commercial and tribal casinos in 2012, which was an all-time high. The official figures aren’t out yet for 2013 and certainly not for Jan. 2014 to date. But, by the sound of it, a new record might not be set this year.

According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal: In the last three months, Connecticut casinos have reported staggering revenue declines. Other states had gaming revenue declines for at least two of the three months, including Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Missouri and Pennsylvania.

One of the new strategies to find growth has been putting games online. So far, Nevada, New Jersey and Delaware are home to state-regulated online gaming industries. Nevada’s three online poker sites just broke the US$ 1 million threshold in June, which was the best performance to date.
New Jersey’s online gambling industry had overall revenue of US$ 9.5 million in June, while Delaware saw US$ 188,000. Both figures were month-over-month declines. Online gaming in the U.S. is still a fledgling bet.