For a ninth-straight month starting in March 2021, Nevada casinos banked at least one billion in winnings including $1.32 billion in the month of November, which just missed breaking a record of $1.35 billion from July 2021. Nevada casinos are on pace to set a new record for total revenue as it closes in on $13 billion for 2021. Nevada sportsbooks also banked a record-setting $72 million off sportsbettors in November with the NFL and college football in full swing.
Another month, another billion bucks for Nevada casinos. The pandemic was hard on Sin City and even though Las Vegas is still recovering, the state of Nevada posted a ninth-straight month in which they banked at least $1 billion. That stretch set a new record that was establish in 2006-07 when Nevada had a billion-month run of eight consecutive months.
The crazy thing about the current nine-month surge is that many properties and adjacent businesses in Reno and Las Vegas are understaffed, yet casinos in Nevada are posting some of their biggest months in history. The fiscal year reported an increase of 59% in gaming revenue.
November 2021 was no different than their previous nine months. Even with the Thanksgiving holiday and the surging cases of coronavirus and a new variant looming, casinos in Nevada continued to generate income at a ridiculous rate with $1.32 billion in revenue. That almost broke a record, which was set during the summer with $1.35 billion.
In March of 2021, Governor Steve Sisolak began to rollback restrictions and casinos could operate at 100% capacity. Gamblers flocked to Sin City and Reno. March 2021 was
exactly one year after Nevada first shuttered its casinos, so locals and tourists were pumped to return to casinos to gamble it up.
Since March 2021, Nevada has earned no less than 10 figures in cash every month, which started with a $1.06 billion score. April 2021 was the lowest number in the current streak, but Nevada still banked $1.03 billion. May was also a sensational month, thanks to a juicy Memorial Day weekend holiday, and Nevada casinos were $1.23 billion richer. That marked just the beginning of a profitable summer.
In June, Nevada casinos earned $1.19 billion off tourists heading to Sin City at the start of the summer. In July, Sin City benefited from a record-setting month despite the lack of international travelers. Pretty much it was just a lot of Americans and Canadians and a few brave souls overseas who headed to Vegas via flights from Mexico. July marked a new record in Nevada with $1.35 billion in earnings. Despite a slight downtick in August, Nevada still won $1.16 billion from gamblers.
In September, the World Series of Poker was in full swing and even without a slew of summer tourists, Nevada equaled their August output with the same $1.16 billion in revenue. And yes, October was even bigger than the previous two months with $1.22 billion thanks to a surge in sportsbetting revenue with American sports in full swing, plus the WSOP playing its final run at the Rio Casino, and four Phish concerts including their Halloween run drew in phans from all over the country.
November fell short of the record with $1.32 billion, but overall Nevada casinos won over $12.3 billion in 2021. That number is currently ranked #3 all-time before the beancounters tally up December's haul. The current Nevada record for best revenue year is $12.8 billion, which was set in 2007. Early estimates for December 2021 suggest that the 2021 will set a new record with at least $13 billion. Who said 13 was an unlucky number, eh?
Sportsbooks in Nevada handled over $1 billion in sports bets for a second month in a row. The legal bookies banked $72 million during a record-setting month in November, which crushed the previous record of $62 million from November 2020. Bettors went a little nuts in college football, where it seemed like a slew of big underdogs prevailed. In the NFL, the dogs ruled the day and home-field advantage became non-existent on the grid iron. Plus, there was a lot of betting action with the start of the NBA, NHL, and college hoops seasons.
2021 Nevada Gaming Revenue
- March 2021: $1.06 Billion
- April 2021: $1.03 Billion
- May 2021: $1.23 Billion
- June 2021: $1.19 Billion
- July 2021: $1.35 Billion
- August 2021: $1.16 Billion
- September 2021: $1.16 Billion
- October 2021: $1.22 Billion
- November 2021: $1.32 Billion
