Nevada Poker Report April 2018: The Calm Before The WSOP Storm
Nevada poker numbers are one of the more counterintuitive data sets you’ll come across. For well over a year the industry has seen revenue trending up while the number of poker rooms and poker tables trend down. April 2018 saw both trends reverse.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board reported a -1.09 percent year-over-year decrease in poker revenue for the month.
Poker revenue reached $8,350,000 in April, compared to $8,442,000 poker rooms collected in April 2017.
For the month, the NGCB counted 64 poker rooms and 595 tables. That’s a solid bump on both fronts compared to March’s 62 poker rooms and 567 poker tables. It’s also an increase over April 2017, when the state boasted 64 poker rooms and 586 tables, marking the first time in recent memory that the number of poker tables has increased year-over-year.
The bump could represent some rooms getting an early start on the summer tournament season. A World Poker Tour stop, the Super High Roller Bowl, and the World Series of Poker.
Not surprisingly, on a per table basis, April 2018 dropped off from last year’s numbers:
- April 2017 table average: $14,406
- April 2018 table average: $14,034
2018 live poker revenue in Nevada
12-month poker room and table trend
May 2017: 62 poker rooms and 724 poker tables
June 2017: 62 poker rooms and 731 poker tables
July 2017: 63 poker rooms and 724 poker tables
August 2017: 63 poker rooms and 603 poker tables
September 2017: 62 poker rooms and 598 poker tables
October 2017: 61 poker rooms and 572 poker tables
November 2017: 62 poker rooms and 580 poker tables
December 2017: 61 poker rooms and 562 poker tables
January 2018: 63 poker rooms and 568 poker tables
February 2018: 64 poker rooms and 587 poker tables
March 2018: 62 poker rooms and 567 poker tables
April 2018: 64 poker rooms and 595 poker tables
Poker in Clark County
The NGCB counted 39 poker rooms and 479 poker tables in Clark County in the month of April, a 25-table increase over March. Clark County includes the heavily trafficked and larger poker rooms from Las Vegas.
As such, Clark County generates 90 percent of the total poker market share in Nevada. In April , Clark County poker rooms accounted for $7,555,000 of the $8,350,000 poker dollars collected by the state’s card rooms.
The 39 rooms and 479 tables is a slight increase Y/Y. In April 2017 Clark County’s 39 poker rooms possessed 471 poker tables.
[i15-table tableid=20717][i15-table tableid=19346]Poker on the Las Vegas Strip
The Las Vegas Strip’s poker rooms make up the bulk of Clark County’s poker revenue. Las Vegas Strip poker rooms generated $5,238,000 in April, even though they only account for a fraction of the poker rooms and tables in the state, 19 and 270 respectively.
Nevada poker rooms by the numbers
The largest poker rooms in Las Vegas are mainly found on the Las Vegas Strip:
Venetian (The Strip) – 37 poker tables
Bellagio (The Strip) – 37 poker tables
Orleans (Las Vegas off-strip)- 35 poker tables
Wynn (The Strip) – 28 poker tables
Aria (The Strip) – 24 poker tables
South Point Casino (Henderson) – 22 poker tables
Green Valley Ranch Casino (Henderson) – 22 poker tables
Red Rock Casino (Summerlin) – 20 tables
Historical data and trends of poker in Nevada
Here’s a look at several key poker metrics from the UNLV Center for Gaming Research, which has been tracking the number of poker rooms, tables and revenue since 1992:
Year | # of Rooms | # of Tables | Total Revenue | % Change YoY |
1992 | 92 | 564 | 74,701,000 | -2.57 |
1993 | 89 | 571 | 70,814,000 | -5.20 |
1994 | 93 | 586 | 71,667,000 | 1.20 |
1995 | 92 | 574 | 66,520,000 | -7.18 |
1996 | 82 | 539 | 64,485,000 | -3.06 |
1997 | 77 | 490 | 61,509,000 | -4.61 |
1998 | 76 | 526 | 58,873,000 | -4.29 |
1999 | 70 | 546 | 63,244,000 | 7.41 |
2000 | 68 | 473 | 63,064,000 | -0.28 |
2001 | 65 | 475 | 59,673,000 | -5.38 |
2002 | 57 | 386 | 57,791,000 | -3.15 |
2003 | 58 | 383 | 68,276,000 | 18.15 |
2004 | 79 | 484 | 98,862,000 | 44.80 |
2005 | 96 | 701 | 140,224,000 | 42.00 |
2006 | 106 | 886 | 160,929,000 | 14.77 |
2007 | 113 | 907 | 167,975,000 | 4.38 |
2008 | 113 | 913 | 155,724,000 | -7.29 |
2009 | 114 | 905 | 145,580,000 | -6.54 |
2010 | 109 | 920 | 135,200,000 | -7.13 |
2011 | 104 | 872 | 131,877,000 | -2.46 |
2012 | 99 | 809 | 123,253,000 | -6.54 |
2013 | 88 | 774 | 123,891,000 | 0.56 |
2014 | 79 | 736 | 119,904,000 | -3.18 |
2015 | 76 | 681 | 118,023,000 | -1.57 |
2016 | 73 | 661 | 117,753,000 | -0.18 |
2017 | 71 | 615 | 118,455,000 | 0.60 |