Gaming profits in September were down slightly from a year ago, an expected decline that resulted in part from the Labor Day weekend that began in August, the Nevada Gaming Control Board reported Wednesday.
Despite the statewide decrease of 2.3 percent and Clark County’s 2.9 percent decline, both profit totals still reached more than $1 billion for the state’s 443 and Clark County’s 217 major casinos.
For the first quarter of the 2025-26 financial year, profits are still ahead of 2024-25 and only two of the 20 submarkets monitored by the watchdog have reported profits less than a year ago.
Outlying markets in Clark County outperformed the Strip and downtown Las Vegas for the month with the Strip down 5.5 percent to $687.8 million and downtown down 2 percent to $89.2 million.
The North Las Vegas market was flat, and the Boulder Strip, Laughlin, Mesquite and nearby Clark County all rose by single-digit percentages.
The worst performance in September came in Sparks, down 10.2 percent to $14.2 million.
Gaming industry analyst Daniel Politzer of New York-based JP Morgan said Strip slots’ performance was strong, but offset by volatile baccarat play, which turned unfavorable due to lower hold rates for the game.
“Given the Strip’s soft leisure background (we expect Strip revenue per available room to be down again when we get data from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority this afternoon), the Strip’s solid gaming trends continue to stand out,” Politzer wrote in a Wednesday note to investors.
For the first quarter of the fiscal year, the state’s gaming profits rose 2.3 percent to $3.9 billion and Clark County, boosted by the Strip’s $2.1 billion profit, is up 1.7 percent to $3.3 billion.
Clark County and the Strip continue to be the gambling workhorse for the state with the county accounting for 85 percent of the state’s profit.
As of Friday, the state had collected $87 million in gaming taxes from September winnings, down 12.3 percent from a year ago. But collections for the quarter are still up 7.6 percent from last year to $347.2 million.
Later Wednesday, the summer pattern of lower attendance with higher game winnings will be determined when the LVCVA produces September attendance statistics for Southern Nevada.
This is a development story. Check back for updates.
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