Las Vegas casinos are slowly coming back to life after being locked down for months. July 2020 marked their first full month of operation since Nevada’s casinos re-opened in June. Their revenues were down plenty over previous years, but look like major victories compared to March, April and May.
According to a recent report from the Nevada Gaming Control Board, as reported on by KVVU Las Vegas, Nevada’s regulated casinos pulled in $756.8 million during the month of July. That’s down 26 percent across the board from July 2019.
Not surprisingly, the casinos of the Las Vegas Strip were hardest hit taking a whopping 39 percent hit over last year’s number. Downtown and Fremont Street casinos fared a bit better with a bruising 28 percent drop from 2019.
As bad as the carnage was in July, it looks pretty darned rosy when compared to the stunning 96-98 percent losses that those same casinos suffered in Q3 2020.
These numbers also represent the first picture of what life after lockdown might look like for limited capacity casinos. Though no casino is operating at full-capacity, it’s pretty clear that crowds are slowly starting to return to Las Vegas.
July 2020 was also the first full month that the casino’s have been open since February 2020. That’s an awfully long time for any business to be shut down.
It’s also worth noting that most Las Vegas casinos were punched in the face twice during early quarantine as their physical operations shut down and their online sportsbooks had no games to offer players. Sportsbooks are still suffering from a limited slate of offerings and an anxious public. Their earnings were down 40 percent over last year.