- The Nevada gaming industry remains in a state of shutdown with all casino properties in the state closed due to COVID-19.
- The only revenue coming in to several Nevada gaming companies are from their mobile sports betting app.
- The Westgate Superbook and South Point Casino sportsbook apps are scheduled to reopen this week.
Not exactly ‘breaking news’ but the Nevada gaming industry has been devastated by the shutdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. March revenue numbers were downright brutal and they’re only going to get worse when April’s data is released since every casino in Nevada was shut down for the entire month. You’ll likely see a year to year drop of over 97% since most properties have zero gaming revenue coming in.
The only revenue stream right now for several companies is their mobile sports betting app. William Hill, Circa Sports, MGM Resorts and Caesars Entertainment have been taking mobile bets for awhile now. They’ll get some more company this week as the Westgate Superbook and the South Point Casino sportsbook reopen their mobile platforms. Since sports betting is a low margin business it won’t do much to negate the gaming losses caused by the shutdown but some revenue is obviously better than no revenue.
The Westgate Superbook app is set to reopen at 9 AM Pacific on Thursday morning. It has been dormant since the property was closed back in March due to the Coronavirus pandemic. The Westgate Las Vegas hotel is now taking reservations for stays beginning June 22 so it looks as if the property will remain closed for quite some time. The Westgate–formerly the LVH, the Las Vegas Hilton and *way* back in the day the International Hotel Casino–is located right next door to the Las Vegas Convention Center. That proximity makes the Westgate more dependent on convention travel than most Las Vegas properties so it really doesn’t make sense for them to reopen before conventions start to return. The next convention scheduled will be the International Esthetics, Cosmetics & Spa Conference beginning on June 27 and expected to bring 25,000 people to town.
Unfortunately, if you’re not already signed up with the Westgate mobile app you’re out of luck. For now, only customers with existing accounts will be able to use the app. Nevada gaming regulations require in-person signup and obviously that can’t happen until the casino re-opens.
South Point will reopen their app on Wednesday. The property has found a clever workaround to allow new clients to sign up despite the casino being closed. They’ll be accepting sign ups for new customers and deposits for existing customers in the property’s valet parking area from 11 AM to 6 PM Pacific 7 days a week:
There still isn’t much to bet on though the situation is improving. NASCAR is resuming their race schedule beginning on Sunday in Darlington, SC. The UFC will hold their first card since the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown began on Saturday night as UFC 249 takes place from an empty arena in Jacksonville, Florida.
