The largest gaming venues in the state of Nevada were able to see a profit for the fiscal year 2016, something that has not been done since 2008. Surprisingly, the profit was not solely due to to gambling win with more than half coming from other streams such as but room rentals, fees, entertainment, food and beverage, etc.
A yearly report released by the Nevada Gaming Control Board showed that room rentals plus fees associated generated an income of close to $979 million from the total $25.2 billion earned for the year, which ended on the 30th of June. The Board showed these figures, which are better than the net loss of $662 million in revenues from the previous fiscal year out of the $24.6 billion earned.
Casinos throughout the state were able to record earnings for the very first time in eight years, according to Michael Lawton, senior research analyst for the Tax and License Division of the Gaming Control Board. These earnings took place at a time when gaming is no longer the main focus and casinos are leaning more towards restaurant dining, retail and room rentals.
Lawton stated that it has been a long road to get back in the black for the state. The analyst said: “It’s good not only because it’s net income for the first time, but because it’s net income in all areas across the board.”
According to Lawton, the figures for this fiscal year actually came in at just .1% under a record set in the fiscal year 2007 when $25.3 billion was generated. The annual report, known as the Gaming Abstract, was published to the public on Wednesday and includes over 200 pages of information about 273 gaming venues in Nevada that were able to earn $1 million or more via gaming revenues. Topics included in the report are room occupancy rates, gambling revenue per square foot of space at the casino and number of individuals employed.
In the report, it stated that 70 casinos owned by public companies in the state created 78% of the total. The report was released a day after clandar?year numbers showed Las Vegas breaking visitor records for the third year in a row. In December, the McCarran International Airport was on a pace to break a record of 45 million passengers handled in the year 2015. 42.9 million tourists, a record number, was reported by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority for 2016.