So far 2013 has been a very good year for Nevada. Just last week it made history when it became the first state in the nation to introduce regulated, real money online poker with the launch of Ultimate Poker. New construction projects abound, and now it is being reported that gambling revenue is up in Nevada this year, to boot.
This week the Nevada Gaming Control Board announced that statewide, casinos took in $914 million during the month of March. This figure represents a 7 percent increase over March of 2012. The gambling revenue total for the state, year to date, is $8.4 billion. Las Vegas is faring even better; there revenue is up 13.1 percent over March of last year.
The news that gambling revenue is up comes as the future is looking increasingly bright for the state, and in particular its glittering, gleaming gaming capitol, Las Vegas. A recent profile of the city in the travel section of the New York Times notes that as new projects spring up in the city, including new hotels, shopping, and interestingly two different ferris wheel attractions, the aesthetic along the Strip no longer tends toward showiness like knockoff medieval towers and tacky odes to ancient cultures, but rather Las Vegas is growing into a style all its own, which speaks not only to its glitzy past but also to its modern, cosmopolitan future.
Much of this progress has been carefully designed, of course, to attract a new breed of Las Vegas tourist, a plan which by many accounts is succeeding. Remarking that younger visitors are clamoring for more urbane experiences, the United States hospitality and leisure practice leader for PricewaterhouseCoopers, Scott Berman, told the New York Times, "Going back 20 years, for a long time, Vegas was all about the gaming floor. The majority of revenues came from the gaming floor, but over time, you’ve seen retail, and food and beverage, and obviously hotels become more important to the overall economic equation."
Younger Las Vegas visitors are keen on taking advantage of the proliferation of nightclubs, pools, and other attractions that are now featuring more prominently into new casino resort designs. While the casino floor remains a major attraction, the younger generation also expects to be wowed by amenities, first class dining, and top-flight shows and retail.
"The demographics in Las Vegas continue to change," said Berman, explaining why companies such as Caesars Palace are opening boutique hotels within their existing properties.
"There are more younger people coming for other than the traditional reason to come to Las Vegas, which used to be gambling. They’re coming for nightclubs, restaurants, and bar and pool experiences, and when they travel, they tend to stay in these boutique hotels."
