January gaming win plunged by 11 percent from a year ago on the Strip, but analysts say it was a tough comparison against a stellar January 2025.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board on Friday also said state gaming win fell 6.6 percent to $1.34 billion in January. Strip win was $747.7 million for the month.
It was the 59th straight month state gaming win exceeded $1 billion.
Control Board Senior Economic Analyst Shelley Newell acknowledged January numbers faced a tough comparison because last year’s numbers were extraordinarily high.
Baccarat and table games were responsible for most of the declines with players generally playing luckier than casinos, Newell said. The drop — the amount wagered — was up for baccarat and table games, but hold — the amount casinos won — was down.
Baccarat drop was up 17.8 percent to $950.2 million, but the hold percentage was 12.98 percent this year compared with 26.66 percent in January 2025.
Table drop increased 7.1 percent to $3.3 billion, but the hold was 13.08 percent this year compared with 17.23 percent last year.
Nevada sportsbook win was down 11.1 percent from a year ago but slot-machine win was up 0.5 percent.
But Newell also noted that figures are considerably higher than before the coronavirus pandemic.
“Nevada has continued to record gaming win amounts in excess of prepandemic levels this month,” Newell said. “Statewide total win was 36.7 percent or $360.9 million over January 2019.”
The Control Board also reported gaming tax collection for the first month of 2026 was the highest of the 2025-26 fiscal year at $100.9 million. For the fiscal year, tax collections from the state’s 6.75 percent gaming tax is up 2.1 percent to $702.8 million.
January gaming win had wildly swinging highs and lows among the 20 markets monitored by the state.
The Strip’s 11 percent plunge was the worst statewide, but the Control Board also reported Mesquite win up 14.1 percent to $19.8 million, the highest in that market’s history. There were four more markets showing double-digit percentage increases: Wendover up 14.7 percent to $25.7 million, Elko County up 12.9 percent to $36.9 million, Sparks up 10.5 percent and South Lake Tahoe up 10.3 percent to $24.6 million.
The Strip decline paced Southern Nevada’s downturns. Clark County win was down 8.4 percent to $1.16 billion, with Downtown Las Vegas off 5.2 percent to $79.4 million, Boulder Strip down 7 percent to $81.2 million, Laughlin off 3.3 percent to $40.9 million and outlying Clark County down 3 percent to $165.7 million.
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority is expected to announce January’s visitation statistics later Friday.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on X.