Las Vegas Strip Oct. Gaming Wins Down 5.06%

On November 27, the State of Nevada Gaming Control Board released its "Monthly Win and Percentage Fee Tax Collections" report. The regularly scheduled report details the total “gaming win” of all Nevada's nonrestricted gaming licensees. Total gaming wins across Nevada decreased 2.58 percent from one year ago. Casino operators in the Las Vegas Strip reported a decrease of 5.06 percent in gaming wins over the same one year period. The Strip is dominated by three major casino operators, Wynn Resorts, WYNN Las Vegas Sands LVS and MGM Resorts International MGM Wynn Resorts owns and operates the Wynn Las Vegas Resort & Country Club and Encore at Wynn Las Vegas. Las Vegas Sands owns and operates The Venetian Resort-Hotel-Casino, The Palazzo Resort-Hotel-Casino and The Sands Expo and convention Center, the second largest convention center in the world. MGM owns and operates The Bellagio, The Mirage, Luxor, Mandalay Bay, New York-New York, Excalibur, Circus Circus, Slots-A-Fun Casino and MGM Grand Las Vegas, the world's second largest hotel by number of rooms. Investors who have been following the gaming industry closely don't need to be reminded that over the prior years the Vegas Strip has been losing market share in the global gaming market, particularly to Macau. The Macau gaming market has been labeled by some as one of the greatest growth stories in the planet. “The Sands properties in Vegas are huge. You can spend the entire week in Venetia or The Palazzo. But Vegas is just ten percent of their business now,” said Jason Ader, an independent director on the board of Las Vegas Sands during an interview with Forbes Magazine. Ader estimated that the Macau market contributes ten to 20 times more table revenue compared to Las Vegas. All three casino operates are betting their future on Macau, and not on Vegas which hasn't fully recovered from the recession lows. "Of the top 100 hotel markets in the United States, Vegas is at the bottom in terms of recovery from its recession year low," Ader noted. The Venetian Macau, modeled after its sister resort in Vegas is the sixth-largest building in the world by floor area. Las Vegas Sands also owns and operates Sands Macao, Sands Cotai Central and will be opening its Parisian Resort in 2015. Wynn Resorts has two properties in Macau, Wynn Macau Resort and Encore at Wynn Macau. The company is scheduled to open Wynn Palace in the first half of 2016. MGM has one property in the region, MGM Macau. MGM Cotai is scheduled to open in late 2015 or 2016.