Alcohol Sales in Vegas Still High Despite Recession
2 Mar
While state figures show that less money was spent on accommodation as well as gambling and eating on the Vegas strip last year, booze was still a big seller. Despite being in the midst of the recession last year, there was a marked increase in revenue and profit for the beverage department, according to the Gaming Control Board’s annual review of Nevada casinos.
Veteran players say that one of the reasons may be because there are fewer free drinks offered these days. There has been a marked decline in complimentary drinks from 2009 to 2010. Unlike in the past, players will get their initial drink for free and then need to purchase the rest and it seems players are willing to do just that. Steve Wynn of Wynn Resorts says that often alcohol sales will make bigger profits than blackjack. This has resulted in a number of nightclubs being opened to capitalize on this.
The bulk of the state’s alcohol is consumed on the Strip and beverage department revenue rose 5 percent in the last fiscal year while income in gambling, rooms and food departments fell 32 percent, 23 percent and 12 percent, respectively.
All this despite the fact that alcohol has the highest mark up of everything else offered on casino menus. It seems that in Las Vegas the one factor always worth betting on is people wanting to drink through the good times as well as the bad.
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