Vegas Revenues Up Big in June

Las Vegas continues to show signs of recovery, with gambling revenues up 32% year-over-year. Revenues increased to $506.7 million in June, contributing to an overall 8.5% increase first the first half of 2011 when compared to the same period in 2010.

The improvement wasn’t limited to gambling, either. Room rates at Strip hotels are also up, and food and entertainment spending continues to rise as tourism has come back to the city over the past two years.

Outside of Las Vegas, the rest of Nevada has also seen increased revenues in recent months. June casino revenues for the entire state were up 16% in June, rising to $885.7 million, while the combination of the Strip and downtown Las Vegas rose 20%.

Las Vegas is still attempting to recover to the levels seen in the middle of the past decade, before the recession at the end of the decade severely cut into gambling spending. Revenues appeared to bottom out in the last two years, with increases in gambling revenue being commonplace for Vegas casinos over the past year or so.

However, the future outlook for casinos in Vegas and elsewhere is unclear. Despite solid earnings reports from casino companies, stocks in industry giants such as Caesars, Wynn Resorts and Las Vegas Sands were hit hard over the last week. Most analysts attribute the dropping stock prices to fears about the potential for a second recession in the economy, which would likely limit consumers’ willingness to spend money on entertainment – including gambling.

At the moment, though, the news for casinos around the world appears to be generally positive. Along with the growth seen in Las Vegas, Macau has also been a hot spot, with the majority of casino revenue increases coming from the Chinese enclave.