Nevada’s online poker regime collected $985,000 in revenue during July, the second best month ever behind June’s $1,037,000.
Both June and July were buoyed by the 45th annual World Series of Poker when thousands of pro and amateur players gathered in Las Vegas to compete in over 60 live gold bracelet events. The festival ended in mid-July when the $10,000 Main Event played down to the final table.
Had the WSOP continued for all of July, it’s likely that June’s revenue record would have been smashed. But nearing the $1 million mark is still quite an accomplishment for a regulated igaming industry that has not met initial expectations in any of the three states that have enacted Internet poker and gambling statutes thus far.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board began releasing monthly revenue figures in February, so the state’s first nine months of ipoker operations are not considered when comparing monthly totals. Ultimate Poker (UP) was the only site available to Nevada residents and tourists for the first 4 and 1/2 of those nine months until WSOP.com launched in mid-September.
The state’s third Internet poker site, [geolink href=”https://www.usafriendlypokersites.com/real-gaming-becomes-third-online-poker-site-nevada/”]Real Gaming, soft-launched in February[/geolink]. Operating via the gaming license of South Point Casino, Real Gaming has yet to make much of a dent in the Silver State market that is currently restricted to those within Nevada’s borders. The population in Nevada stands at about 2.7 million.
The good news in revenue totals also extends to the land-based gaming industry in Nevada. Tourism is up 2.2% in Las Vegas through July in comparison to the same period in 2013, LV R-J reported.
The boost in gamblers has resulted in a mild increase in revenue under 1% (.06) from July 2013 tallies. Any increase is better than none at all, but July could not compete with June’s lofty 14.3% rise over last year’s totals. Nevada casinos took in $931.8 million in revenue during July.
Getting back to Nevada’s online poker scheme, WSOP.com continues to enjoy the majority of market share by averaging 95 cash game players. UP tables typically have 30 less players at 65.
While the WSOP was running in Vegas, player traffic numbers were hitting in the ballpark of 150 at WSOP.com. The site benefited from extensive marketing at the RIo while players were competing at live events.
Nevada’s ipoker scheme will look quite different in the future as 888 Holdings announced that it will launch a site in that market before the year is over. 888 is responsible for the software at WSOP.com and will also do the same for another site that is readying a launch via the gaming license of Treasure Island. All three will share liquidity on the same intrastate network.
