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Nevada Casinos Crush Records With $4.1 Billion Net Income For the FY 2022
By Jeff Osienya Jan 31, 2023 IndustryThe Silver State registered a remarkable $4.12 billion net income for the FY 2022 between July 1st, 2021, and June 30th, 2022. The performance is a remarkable recovery from the losses attained in the previous financial year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.Nevada’s casinos outdid themselves in the 2022 financial year based on the recently published 168-page 2022 Gaming Abstract by the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB). According to the report, the casinos in the Silver State brought in $4.1bn in net income in the fiscal year ending June 30th, 2022. This impressive figure trounced the previous net income record best of $2.9 billion recorded in the 2020 fiscal year.
The Silver State’s Gaming Abstract is a special report published by the NGCB for every fiscal year. Besides indicating statewide Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR), it usually includes revenue generated by hotel rooms and restaurants in the region. The report also shows expenses before taxable revenue and a selection of other special charges.
It’s worth pointing out that the Gaming Abstract only considers casinos that gross at least $1 million per year. Thus, the report pointed out that 296 casinos surpassed the million-dollar threshold in the 2022 fiscal year to generate a whopping $26.36 billion in revenue. About 41% of the said figure came from gaming. This marks the second-highest revenue garnered in Nevada’s history, coming close to the $27 billion record witnessed over the pre-pandemic days in the 2018 fiscal year.
This turnaround starkly contrasts the pandemic-stricken 2021 financial year when the Battle Born State suffered a devastating $206.5 million loss. That said, the number of Nevada casinos that generated $1 million and above decreased from 302 in 2021 to 296 in 2022.
The Strip Makes a Strong Comeback as Most Counties Improve
The Las Vegas Strip, which is part of the larger Clark County, marked a notable improvement from its 2021 performance. In the previous financial year, the Strip recorded a net income loss of more than $1.9 billion after registering an $8.7 billion haul across all departments. From the overall figures in the 2021 fiscal year, gaming revenue from the Las Vegas Strip added up to $3.5 billion.
A year later, the Strip’s gaming revenue ballooned to a stellar $5.2 billion, with the combined revenue for all departments bringing in more than double the previous haul, at $17.3 billion. From the splendid performance, the net gaming income for the Strip jumped to $1.8 billion, springing back from the heavy losses suffered in FY 2021.
Occupancy rates in the Strip also rose significantly from what they were the previous year, with the resorts around the area recording an impressive 83% occupancy rate during the 2022 fiscal year.
Michael Lawton, the NGCB’s Senior Economic Analyst, summarized the Strip’s shining performance that boosted Nevada’s earnings for the FY 2022 in a brief statement saying:
Quote“The Strip accounted for 87.1 percent of the state’s $4.33bn improvement to net income in fiscal year 2022. The total revenue generated in all departments was $17.3 billion, second highest all time, compared with $8.7 billion last year. The Strip accounted for 83.1 percent of the state’s $10.2bn increase to total revenue in fiscal year 2022.”
The larger Clark County also did pretty well, rebounding to surpass figures set during the pre-pandemic years. In total, 170 of the largest casinos in Downtown Las Vegas, for instance, saw their net income double to $269.7 million. Besides the Las Vegas area, other regions that saw their net incomes soar include Washoe County, which had its income rise by 35% to $372.7 million. Elko County also registered a 10% income climb to $144.8 million.
Of all the 14 submarkets monitored by the NGCB, South Shore Lake Tahoe was the only one that experienced a slip (-0.1%) in its net income in the Financial Year 2022. The minute decline can be attributed to the Caldor Fire, which ravished close to 350 square miles in the Eldorado National Forest, along with most of the areas surrounding Lake Tahoe.
Touching on the notable improvements seen across the state, Brendan Bussman, a gaming industry analyst with Sin City-based B-Global, noted:
Quote“The resiliency of the gaming industry, as it continues to rebound from the pandemic and face continuing challenges with economic uncertainty, shines through with the numbers from 2022. While the Tahoe numbers reflect the shutdown during the fire, you would have had an even stronger number without that loss…While you can still see the ebb and flow through some of the challenges from a year ago, gaming continues to drive Nevada’s recovery forward, not just with gaming, but also with nongaming and spillover from indirected and induced gaming activity.”
More Tidbits From the FY 2022 Gaming Abstract
Besides the headline grabbers, the gist of the report by the NGCB also contained some interesting highlights that are worth mentioning. For instance, the Abstract showed that 56 casinos owned by public companies were responsible for the majority of the total gaming revenue at 67.8%.
The report also highlighted the expenses of the state’s casinos, with the single largest expenditure going to employees’ payroll, accounting for 10.4% or $904.6 million. The biggest casino names in the state also spent $19.8 million (0.2%) on the remuneration of their executive officers, while $226.2 million (2.7%) was spent on employee benefits. Finally, 126. 2 million, or about 1.5 %, was spent on payroll taxes.
Breaking down the total number of employees, the report revealed that the biggest casinos employed a total of 111,416 people in Nevada. Of the total, 29,270 were employed at the actual casinos, 19,717 worked in hotel rooms, and 25,768 were food department staffers. Additionally, 21,190 of the recorded employees served in general work positions, 8,320 had roles in the beverage department, and finally, 7,151 performed duties in other departments.
Slot machines, the most popular games in most casinos, brought in the most money at $316.16 per room daily. Meanwhile, table games, which include Keno and Bingo, were next in line as they generated a daily average of $95.16 per room. Further, the sale of food and beverages rounded up the top four highest daily earners with $70.37 and $49.45, respectively, per room. Finally, the department payroll registered a daily average of $$39.66 per room
NGCB Appoints New Chairman
Governor Joe Lombardo of Nevada appointed Las Vegas attorney Kirk Hendrick as the new chairman of the Nevada Gaming Control Board in mid-January. The new chair took over from his predecessor J. Brin Gibson who submitted his resignation from the role in late November 2022. Hendrick started his four-year tenure this month, bringing on board a wealth of experience in business and an outstanding legal background.
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