Ever counted the number of casinos in Vegas- Know the figures and the facts

If you are wondering how many casinos are in Las Vegas then find below some interesting facts and figures. According to 2017 figures there are 104 casinos in Las Vegas. These are located in the Las Vegas valley including downtown, the Strip, and suburbs, even though, technically, some of these are not in the city limits of Las Vegas.

These figures are taken from the Nevada Gaming Commission’s “unrestricted gaming licenses,” which defines a casino as a business with more than 15 pokies machines or one with table games.

That shows not in count the local 7-11 with a video poker machine as a casino (Like the “Louie,” a taxi driver who runs a semi-regular craps game behind the 7-11 on Friday nights). The neighbourhood bar with a few video poker machines, or the corner gas station with a few pokies machines aren’t considered casinos by the Nevada Gaming Commission, and thus, are not counted as casinos.

The  Nevada State Gaming Control Board, is good source for such figures considering they have authority over the ownership, games, licenses, and everything else to do with casinos and gambling in Nevada.

Few interesting facts

• There are 172 casinos in Clark County, as of January 1, 2017, according to the Nevada State Gaming Control Board. This is up exactly 1 casino from 2016, but down 4 from the 176 casinos in Clark County in 2015 . For those of you unaware, Las Vegas is in Clark County, as are the gambling destinations of Mesquite, and Laughlin, Nevada. This 172 figure also includes the casinos in nearby Primm. Overall, Clark County has roughly 2 million people, and encompasses all of Southern Nevada.
• 87% of the state’s gambling revenue comes from casinos in Clark County, Nevada, and 57% of the state’s gambling money comes from the Las Vegas Strip.
• The 172 casinos in Clark County took in $9.7 billion in gaming revenue for the 2016 calendar year. This is up just slightly from the $9.6 billion earned in 2016 and up slightly from the $9.5 billion in gaming revenue for 2014.
• Clark County’s gaming revenues were $9.7 billion 2013, meaning there hasn’t been any growth in gaming revenue in Clark Country in 4 years.
• Although Clark County has 172 casinos, you cannot count the 172 figure in this Las Vegas figure, seeing as how some of those casinos are pretty far away from town.

Fortunately, the state of Nevada separates gaming revenue figures into many different geographical sections – four of which would apply to Las Vegas: The Strip, Downtown, North Las Vegas, and The Boulder Stip.

The Strip

Of the 172 casinos in Clark County, Nevada, there are currently 40 casinos in the Las Vegas Strip area as of 2017 data. For their purposes however, the Nevada Gaming Commission includes casinos that are not actually on Las Vegas Boulevard as being Strip casinos in their figures. These include major resorts like the Rio, the Palms, the Hard Rock, and the Westgate. Also included in this list, are off-Strip properties like Hooters, the Orleans, and the Gold Coast. As you might expect, these 40 casinos represent the vast majority of gaming income in Las Vegas. In fact, in 2016, the Strip accounted for 57% of all the gaming revenue in Nevada. In 2016, Las Vegas Strip casinos generated $6.376 billion in gaming revenue, down slightly from the $6.348 billion in gaming revenue generated in 2015. It nearly matched the 2014 figures.

Downtown

There were 20 casinos reporting revenue in the downtown Las Vegas/Fremont Street area in 2016. These 20 downtown casinos had gaming revenues of over $564 million in 2016, which was up over 4% from the $542 million in 2015.

In contrast, the 40 casinos on the Las Vegas Strip took in approximately $6.4 billion in 2016. So although the Strip has just over twice as many casinos, it has over 11 times more gambling revenue than downtown. This really isn’t surprising given the modest size of many of the popular casinos on Fremont Street as compared to the behemoths like the Bellagio and MGM Grand on the Strip.

North Las Vegas

North Las Vegas has 12 casinos, again, according to the Nevada State Gaming Control Board. Casinos in North Las Vegas are mainly locals-oriented, and are not that popular than their cousins on the Strip. North Las Vegas Casinos include the Station chain properties: Santa Fe Station Hotel and Casino and the Texas Station, as well as the old-school classic joint: Jerry’s Nugget, which has been around since 1964. My friend Ken stops there every time he’s in Las Vegas, as they always have very low minimums on the craps tables. Also in this North Las Vegas category are the Cannery Casino and the Aliante Hotel and Casino, which was built in 2008. In 2016, these North Las Vegas casinos brought in $275 million in gaming revenue, up from the $271 million in gaming revenue in 2015.

Boulder Strip

The Boulder Highway area covers some casinos in Las Vegas suburbs, or those on the outskirts. These are mostly locals places, and include casino/hotels such as Sam’s Town, Boulder Station, Fiesta Station, Green Valley Ranch, and such. There are 31 casinos in this area.

It may surprise you to learn that casinos in the Boulder Strip area bring in more gambling revenue than downtown Las Vegas. This area of mostly “locals” casinos is roughly seven to ten miles east and southeast of the Las Vegas Strip. While many tourists have probably never played there, this section of town, which includes Henderson, Nevada, is an impressive player in the casino market. There are 32 casinos on the Boulder Strip. These thirty-two casinos brought in $787 million in gaming revenue during 2016, versus the $784 million in gaming revenue in 2015.