Clark County gaming win off in December but still up for ‘17

Clark County’s gaming win ended a strong 2017 with a whimper with December totals down 0.89 percent to end the calendar year up 2.7 percent, the state Gaming Control Board reported Wednesday.

Later in the day, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority confirmed record convention attendance for 2017, but fell short of 2016’s record 42.9 million visitors by 1.7 percent.

The LVCVA reported 6.6 million conventioneers visited the city, a 5.3 percent increase over 2016’s record 6.3 million.

The record was achieved in part because of the March appearance of ConExpo-Con/Agg, a building construction industry show that brings about 130,000 people to the city every three years.

The LVCVA has embarked on a project to build a new 600,000-square-foot exhibit hall and to renovate four existing halls to attract more conventions and trade shows to the city. The new hall is expected to open in January 2021 and the renovations are expected to be completed by 2023.

December, a traditionally slow visitation month, produced more of the same with 3.2 million visitors, a 2.5 percent decline from December 2016. It was the seventh straight month of declines from the previous year and is attributed to a 443-room decrease in room inventory through renovations at the Monte Carlo and Palace Station. Another 203 rooms went dark in January with the closure of the Lucky Dragon.

Southern Nevada ended the year with 88.6 percent occupancy rates citywide, a decline by 0.5 points from 2016. The average daily room rate was up 2.7 percent to $129.41, with Strip rates up 2.9 percent to $139.78 and downtown Las Vegas up 6 percent to $69.48.

Meanwhile, a Control Board analyst expects gaming revenue to grow in 2018 with increased visitation and convention traffic filling newly remodeled hotel rooms that were offline much of 2017.

“With the positive economic indicators that the state has been recording along with positive national economic trends, continued modest growth seems attainable,” said Michael Lawton, senior research analyst for the board’s tax and license division.

Clark County’s 2.7 percent increase in 2017 over 2016 totals occurred despite the volatile baccarat market being down 5.75 percent. Lawton said Clark County had a 3.8 percent increase in the first half of the year, but 1.7 percent in the second half.

“These results were driven by slots and games during the first half of the year as we experienced a 3.7 percent and 3.9 percent increase, respectively, during the first half of the year,” he said. “However, during the second half of the year, games decreased 1.4 percent with baccarat down 10.4 percent due to hold, and slots increased 3.8 percent.”

A higher-than-normal percentage of hotel rooms being offline due to remodelings at Monte Carlo, Palace Station and several Caesars Entertainment properties contributed to a decline in visitation and that downturn was reflected in gaming win.

Southern Nevada also battled through a decline in visitation immediately following the 1 October shooting with lower numbers in October and November.

Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on Twitter.