Las Vegas Strip casinos have a problem on their hands

Consumers’ attitudes to spending began to improve over the summer, despite concerns about high prices and interest rates and uncertainty about the future.

Consumer confidence rose in both July and August, according to the Conference Board’s consumer confidence index, and consumers were less pessimistic about the future. The index rose in July to 101.9 from 97.8 in June, and then continued to rise to 105.6 in August.

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Consumers in August were more positive about business conditions, both current and future, but also worried about the labor market, the survey found.

Attitudes changed in September, however, as the consumer confidence index fell nearly 7 points from 105.6 in August to 98.7 in September, which was the biggest drop in the confidence index since August 2021 , according to a September 24 board release.

The Consumer Confidence Index is a monthly survey that measures consumer confidence in business, economic and labor market conditions, conducted by technology firm Toluna for the Conference Board, a non-partisan, non-profit think tank.

“Consumer confidence fell in September to near the bottom of the narrow range that has prevailed over the past two years,” Dana M. Peterson, chief economist at The Conference Board, said in a statement.

“September’s decline was the largest since August 2021 and all five components of the index deteriorated. Consumers’ assessments of current business conditions turned negative, while views of the current labor market weakened further. Consumers were also more pessimistic about future labor market conditions and less so. positive about future business conditions and future earnings,” Peterson said.

In July, the survey said consumers planned to spend less over the next six months on many discretionary items, including gambling, theme parks and personal travel. They also planned to purchase less expensive services, such as streaming a movie instead of going to a movie theater.

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Consumer attitudes toward personal travel and gambling may have played a role in the decline in casino winnings on the Las Vegas Strip over the past two months.

Las Vegas Strip casino earnings have fallen for two consecutive months.

Image source: Shutterstock.

Las Vegas Strip Casino Wins Declining Revenue

Las Vegas Strip casino winnings revenue in August 2024 fell 3.46% year-over-year to $643.6 million, while winnings revenue for the three months from June 1 to 31 August were down 5.27% to $2.1 billion year over year. The Nevada Gaming Control Board reported in its monthly revenue report.

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August’s decline was the second month in a row that earnings declined year-over-year at Strip casinos. Casino revenue in July 2024 fell 15 percent year-over-year to $709.2 million on the Strip. while revenue earned in the three months from May 1 to July 31 fell 3% to $2.2 billion year-on-year.

August earnings revenue was down $65.6 million, or 9%, compared to July earnings revenue of $709.2 million.

Nevada’s August winning revenue fell 3.8 percent to $1.1 billion in August. Three-month earnings revenue fell 2.65 percent to $3.7 billion from June to August.

Revenue earned in downtown Las Vegas in August fell 8.7 percent to $58.3 million year-over-year, but revenue for the three months from June to August rose 2.3 percent , up to $196.4 million. However, Reno’s earnings revenue fell 4.8% to $65.4 million, and earnings revenue for the three months from June to August also fell 5.3% , up to $198.9 million.

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