Nevada gaming win rises 3.1% in August as Strip growth stalls

Nevada gaming win climbed 3.1 percent in August from a year ago with a slight decline for downtown Las Vegas, a double-digit percentage boost on the Boulder Strip and a strong performance in Reno, the Nevada Gaming Control Board reported Wednesday.

Gaming revenue from the Las Vegas Strip was flat.

Gaming win is the amount nonrestricted casinos — those with more than 15 slot machines — won from gamblers playing slots, table games and placing sports bets.

Statewide, gaming win reached $1.27 billion for the month with $1.06 billion of that — nearly 84 percent — generated by Southern Nevada casinos.

Strip revenue was up just 0.7 percent to $684.1 million, but downtown Las Vegas was off 3 percent to $61.5 million. Boulder Strip properties had a gain of 17.4 percent to $83.2 million while Laughlin thrived (up 9.9 percent to $39.9 million) and Mesquite languished (down 1.3 percent to $15.6 million).

Shelley Newell, senior economic analyst with the Control Board, said downtown Las Vegas licensees have said there has been less foot traffic resulting in less volume both in slot machines and table games.

She said greater slot machine hold benefitted Boulder Strip operators in August.

“Nevada continued to record gaming win amounts in excess of pre-pandemic levels this month,” Newell said. “Statewide total win was 32.8 percent or $312.4 million over August 2019. And August 2026 represents the 66th consecutive month that the state has recorded $1 billion in monthly gaming win.”

While Reno revenue was up 15.7 percent to $79.4 million, rural Nevada — Elko, Carson Valley and South Lake Tahoe — were down by as much as 4 percent from August 2025.

In the first two months of the 2026-27 fiscal year, revenue from the state’s casinos is up 2.6 percent with the Strip up 2.2 percent, downtown Las Vegas down 6 percent and the Boulder Strip up 6.6 percent.

Gaming win is important to the state because the state collects a 6.75 percent tax on that revenue. Tax collections from July 1 through Sept. 21 are now at $256.8 million, down 1.3 percent from a year ago.

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitor Authority is expected to issue a report on visitation statistics later Wednesday. On Tuesday, Harry Reid International Airport reported passenger arrivals and departures were down 9.2 percent from a year ago to 4.1 million in August.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.