Without McGregor and Mayweather, Las Vegas Strip Revenue Loses Punch, Dips by Over 12 Percent in August

Casinos along the Las Vegas Strip saw a decline in revenue for the second consecutive month in August, according to the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB).

Strip revenue was down 12.4 percent in the month, compared to August 2017. Since revenue generated by casinos along the Las Vegas Strip account for more than half of all the state’s totals, gaming revenue across Nevada was down as well, by 7.7 percent in the month.

In July, revenue along the from the previous year. The last two months of losses are a departure from the first half of the year, when the state saw of 2018. Most recently, in June, revenue across the state increased by 4.2 percent.

Gaming wins along the strip equaled $477,918,527 in August, nearly $70 million less than the $545,546,040 last year.

Las Vegas Strip casinos were going up against an unbeatable opponent: the previous year’s August.

That’s when the Conor McGregor/Floyd Mayweather boxing match drew international attention and increased revenue along the Las Vegas Strip by more than 21 percent in August 2017. The boxing match helped Strip casinos make $545.5 million cumulatively that month. Nevada sportsbooks also took in an estimated $65 million in fight bets and  on the outcome.

To show how profitable the event was, the 21 percent revenue increase in August 2017 came after Strip revenue decreased by 7.7 percent in July 2017.

The 12 percent drop this month might be inflated due to last year s circumstances, but that isn’t stopping some casino executives from asking questions.

After the negative July, MGM Resorts CEO Jim Murren called it a “third quarter pheonomenon” and said the summer months are typically “tough.”

His company is one of at least two trying to get to the bottom of it, according to Sin City news website VitalVegas.com. The popular blog reported that MGM properties have sent out customer surveys to previous guests asking if Las Vegas is “changing for the better” or “changing for the worse” and asks customers if they will be visiting more or less often.

A survey from Caesars Entertainment explicitly asks customers if they think “resort fees seem unreasonable.” Casinos in Las Vegas have come under recent scrutiny and both MGM and Caesars are among companies who have raised resort fees at their properties this year.

The world s biggest casino companies are sending out surveys to determine why you re so annoyed with Las Vegas.

— Vital Vegas (@VitalVegas)

in March and has seen its stock drop from over $35 a share in April to $27 currently. in February. The company’s stock reached past $13 per share in May, but is now down to $10.