Nevada Poker Report Nov. 2017: Poker Revenue Continues To Tick Up

The Nevada Gaming Control Board has released the revenue numbers for November of 2017, and poker in Nevada has once again posted a small year-over-year increase.

The .44 percent jump in revenue seems insignificant in a vacuum, but becomes substantial when you look at the big picture. The number of poker tables is at its lowest point since 2004, and the number of poker rooms is below pre-poker boom levels, making the rise in revenue quite impressive.

Top line numbers for November

The NGCB counted 62 poker rooms and 580 tables this November. Both tallies are substantially less than the 65 rooms and 625 tables the state counted in November 2016.

Despite the declining number of rooms and tables, total poker revenue rose by .44 percent YoY.

Statewide poker revenue was $8,954,000 this year, compared to $8,915,000 in November 2016.

The efficiency of Nevada poker rooms can really be seen when the per table averages of November 2017 and 2016 are compared:

• November 2016 table average: $14,264
• November 2017 table average: $15,438

Poker rooms and tables trends in 2017

January 2017: 65 poker rooms and 596 poker tables

February 2017: 67 poker rooms and 600 poker tables

March 2017: 66 poker rooms and 596 poker tables

April 2017: 64 poker rooms and 586 poker tables

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

Here’s how the poker room and table trend looks in chart form.

Poker in Clark County

In November 2017, there were 38 poker rooms in Clark County, which includes the heavily trafficked and larger poker rooms from Las Vegas. Those rooms possess a total of 466 poker tables.

Those numbers are fairly stable when compared to November 2016, which saw 40 rooms and 488 tables in Clark County.

The stability shouldn’t be surprising as Clark County accounts for the vast majority (well over 90 percent) of all poker revenue in Nevada. In October, Clark County poker rooms generated $8,124,000 of the $8,954,000 poker dollars collected by the state’s card rooms.

There are a couple of reasons for this.

The average monthly value of a Clark County poker table is over $17,000, while the average monthly value of a poker table outside of Clark County is around $7,800.

Poker on the Las Vegas Strip

Zooming in even closer, The Strip accounts for most of the poker dollars coming out of Clark County, and therefore most of the poker dollars in Nevada.

The Strip only has 18 poker rooms, but it accounts for nearly half of the state’s poker tables – 272 in November – and nearly two-thirds of all poker revenue.

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: