Nevada month-to-month gaming win climbs to near-record heights because of a busy March | Casinos & Gaming

An ideal storm of positives — massive live performance and sports activities attracts, sturdy conference attendance in addition to above-average gaming holds and regular excessive quantity within the state’s casinos — turned March into probably the greatest months for gaming win in current historical past.

The Nevada Gaming Control Board on Thursday mentioned the state’s 452 main casinos received $1.427 billion for the month, an 11.8 p.c improve over a 12 months in the past and slightly below the report $1.433 billion received in December 2023.

The board additionally reported Strip win was up 14.4 p.c to $780 million and downtown Las Vegas climbed 20.8 p.c to $103.1 million.

Shelley Newell, senior financial analyst for the Control Board’s administration division, mentioned there have been a variety of leisure dates throughout the valley in March, a month that traditionally has had a excessive quantity of well-attended conventions and commerce reveals.

ConExpo helped

This 12 months, that included ConExpo-Con/Agg in Las Vegas, a significant development tools commerce present that solely comes each three years.

Sports drew properly with the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series held on the Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 14-15 and bettors on the town to observe the NCAA school “March Madness” basketball tournaments.

More importantly, gaming quantity, win and maintain share had a uncommon trifecta of will increase in baccarat, desk and card video games, slot machines and, apart from quantity, sports activities wagering.

Table, counter and card video games win hit $457.1 million — a 27.9 p.c improve from March 2025, or $99.7 million. Games drop of $3.1 billion elevated 3.8 p.c, or $115.7 million, and the video games maintain share was 14.5 p.c versus 11.8 p.c final 12 months.

“Drop” is the quantity gamblers wagered in casinos, whereas “hold” is the share casinos stored from gamblers’ shedding bets.

Baccarat win of $154.1 million greater than doubled (105.13 p.c or $79 million). Baccarat drop of $786.6 million elevated 43.8 p.c, or $239.6 million, and the sport’s maintain share was 19.59 p.c in contrast with 13.74 p.c final 12 months.

Slot win of $969.8 million elevated 5.5 p.c or $50.6 million and coin-in of $13.3 billion was up $324.2 million or 2.5 p.c.

Nevada sportsbooks received $46 million, up 107 p.c or $23.8 million in contrast with March 2025 on a maintain share of 6 p.c versus about 2.6 p.c final 12 months. Sportsbook wagers totaled $763 million, down 11.3 p.c in contrast with final March when $860.6 million was wagered statewide. Mobile wagers totaled $550.4 million, down 10.1 p.c or $61.9 million, and accounted for 72.1 p.c of all wagers.

While not one of the win statistics hit report highs in March, a number of of the quantities have been near report territory.

The statewide slot win was the second-highest in historical past, and total gaming win was fifth-best ever.

Win from slot machines on the Strip have been seventh-best ever.

Strip win ranked twelfth total, and statewide desk recreation win and Strip desk recreation wins have been No. 17 total.

Newell mentioned win once more exceeded prepandemic ranges with statewide win up 39.5 p.c over March 2019. She mentioned gaming win exceeded $1 billion for the 61st straight month.

The excessive gaming win translated into larger gaming tax collections for the state, which go to Nevada’s common fund.

Based on collections by means of April 22, 10 months of gaming tax collections whole $868.8 million, up simply over 3 p.c from the quantity collected within the 2024-25 fiscal 12 months.

Visitation numbers

While gaming numbers soared in March, visitation was up reasonably, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority reported later Thursday.

With greater than 140,000 individuals attending ConExpo, conference attendance stored total visitation from falling behind final 12 months’s totals.

Midweek conference arrivals boosted the common each day room price to the second-highest March on report at $206.72 an evening. The midweek lodge occupancy price was up 2.2 share factors to 81.9 p.c.

Kevin Bagger, vice chairman of the LVCVA Research Center, mentioned conventions and sports activities stored visitation forward of final 12 months’s totals. He mentioned the best common each day room price on report for March, $213 an evening, occurred in 2023, the final time ConExpo was on the town.

The LVCVA reported March visitation at 3.5 million, 1.9 p.c forward of March 2025, with conference attendance up 33.4 p.c to 712,000.

Weekend visitation benefited from NASCAR, March Madness and regionally performed convention basketball tournaments.

California automotive visitors for the month partially offset a decline in air passengers as Harry Reid International Airport started feeling the brunt of upper gas prices introduced on by the warfare in Iran.

Interstate 15 visitors on the California-Nevada border climbed 5.7 p.c to a mean 44,647 autos each day. The Nevada Department of Transportation doesn’t differentiate between vacationers and native visitors on I-15.

Reid airport reported passenger visitors down 4.2 p.c to 4.6 million passengers. Domestic air visitors was off 3.5 p.c to 4.3 million passengers, whereas worldwide arrivals have been down 15 p.c to 265,836.

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