It’s no secret that casinos all around the world have had a tough go of things with COVID-19, but despite allowing casinos to reopen, Nevada has been hit hard.
Despite being the go-ahead to reopen back in June, punters are still steering clear of the state’s casinos.
This has resulted in casinos from Nevada reporting a total revenue of $743.0 million in August.
That figure is down 1.7% month on month and down 21.9% year on year.
Nevada records lower revenue in August than in July, causing alarm bells to ring
Sin City is Sleepy City
Sin City is one of the biggest areas of Nevada that’s really feeling the pinch.
Back in June, casinos across the city released numbers of punters that came to play in casinos, with the final number reaching 1,065,100 – that’s a 70% decrease compared to June 2019.
This has hit casinos hard as they’re not able to pull in big numbers from what are typically the Nevada casino scene’s busiest months.
In fact, casinos had no trouble at all abiding by the 50% capacity regulation thanks to the decrease in player numbers.
Despite this, the Culinary Union is still disappointed in the way casinos are handling the situation, with more than 350 workers and their families testing positive for COVID-19 since casinos reopened.
Players Still Winning Big
That’s not to say that casinos still aren’t making a small fortune from the players that do come in, on the contrary.
Casinos still made all that profit on players, which might be down 21.9% year on year, but it’s still a hefty sum of cash compared to the alternatives of being closed for business.
Despite this figure, several players have made it their mission to take Vegas for everything it’s got.
On opening day, one player hit a $670k jackpot at Caesars, while a teacher won $563k on Labor Day weekend.
Then, in the final week of September, another player won two jackpots within a matter of hours, taking home a total of $792,062 for her luck.
These players have been proving that while Vegas is a shadow of its former self, slots and games are still primed and ready to pay out a ludicrous amount of cash.
Can Vegas Recover?
With the news of President Trump becoming infected with the virus, it could swing one of two ways.
If Trump suffers barely any symptoms or side effects, then he will likely go on to make out that the virus is nothing to be afraid of, allowing more venues to open and restrictions to be lifted.
This could be great for the casino industry and millions of workers around the US, but it will also wreak havoc on the health of millions.
On the other hand, if Trump has a real rough ride and gets a good scare, he could backtrack and shut down more of the US as his first-hand experience was not pleasant.
So, it’s really all down to Trump and his case of COVID-19. If it doesn’t go too badly, we could see Vegas and other casinos benefit from a relaxation of certain rules.
Time will tell!
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