November 2018 was a month to be thankful for if you happen to own a Las Vegas casino. Casinos up and down the famed Las Vegas Strip reported big revenue gains for the month thanks to the surprise resurgence of baccarat as a revenue driving force.
According to the latest numbers released by the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB), the combined revenue of Nevada’s vaunted gambling industry was $967.2 million for the month of November. That’s also up a full 6.4 percent over the same period in 2017.
Not surprisingly, most of that revenue was earned in Las Vegas. What’s most surprising is the fact that baccarat earned $97.8 million for the casinos. That’s up a whopping 50 percent over November 2017.
Baccarat is a game that tends to draw international high rollers and was a very steady earner for casinos until China began an anti-corruption campaign that led some of its elites to be more discrete with their gaming habits. That crackdown had a major impact on casino revenues, but the trend does seem to be reversing itself.
Blackjack was the second biggest table game pulling in $87.6 million, up more than four percent over the previous years.
Nevada’s sportsbooks clocked in a very solid $27.1 million, which is nearly triple the number it earned in November 2017. November 2017, however, will be remembered as one of the worst beatings Nevada sportsbooks have ever taken, due to plenty of NFL favorites cashing in on consecutive weeks.
While November revenues were great in Las Vegas, they did not top the $1 billion mark, which was achieved in October.