Overall Las Vegas Revenue Down

According to reports recently released, gaming revenue was down in Las Vegas in April.

In April, gambling revenue was a little more than $810 million. That accounts for a 5.6 percent drop in revenue from April 2009. Taxes collected in April were nearly $40 million, or 23 percent less than in April 2009.

Interestingly, most of the losses occurred off the Strip. Along the Las Vegas Strip, there was only a 1 percent drop in revenue, to $437 million. And the Strip continues to bring in the majority of gambling revenue in the state, with 54 percent of the state’s gambling revenue coming from play on the Strip. In April 2009, the Strip accounted for just 51.3 percent of gambling revenue.

This fiscal year has been a tough one for the whole of Nevada. Overall there’s been a 4 percent drop in revenue, while the Strip has seen occasional losses and an overall increase of less than 1 percent in revenue.

As discussions continue in Congress about the legality of online poker and online casinos, the state of Nevada continues to explore the idea of the state hosting online gambling sites, not only for the revenue it could bring in but for the additional attention it could bring to the gambling mecca that is Las Vegas and Nevada.