That's how much the average visitor in Las Vegas gambles

If you see the extravagant and over-the-top luxury casinos on the Las Vegas Strip, you would think that the average visitor to Sin City loses tons of money. All those replicated Eiffel towers, Venetian canals and fountains have to be paid for.

Hence the question: what is the gambling budget of the average visitor in Las Vegas?

Last week the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA), say the Las Vegas traffic agency, presented their annual survey report with visitor data for 2016.

You can't think of it that way, or it's being investigated by the LVCVA: how old are the tourists, where do they come from, are they married, do they visit the Hoover Dam or the Grand Canyon during their visit, did they go to a spa and did they post selfies on Facebook, yes or no?

And of course the report contains a lot of data about the gambling behavior of tourists. How many casinos do they visit, do they gamble at all, and if so, how many hours a day and how much do they bet at the gaming tables and slot machines?

First the good news from the report: more and more people are coming to Sin City. In 2016 there were no less than 42.9 million, an absolute record.

The bad news, for the casinos then, is that fewer and fewer visitors are taking a chance. "Only" 69 percent of tourists try the slots, roulette or blackjack. In 2015 that was 72 percent.

But there is a bright spot for the play palaces.

Because for the first time in 20 years, the gambling budget of visitors has increased. The people who gamble had an average of $ 619 per trip in 2016 to bet. That is the highest gambling budget since 1996 (when gamblers took $ 581 per person).

$ 182.06 per person per day

Since a visitor stays on average 3.4 nights in Las Vegas, there is $ 182.06 per day to break into the casinos. No global amount, but apparently enough to maintain the gambling palaces.

Of course, not everyone leaves his entire gambling budget on the back of the green sheet or in the slot of the slot machine. But how many dollars the visitors to Sin City actually lose during their trip is not exactly clear.

The reason: the casinos do not know of all players whether they are on vacation or whether they come from Las Vegas and the surrounding area.

Mr. Casino has therefore made a rough calculation to estimate the average gambling loss:

• The total gambling loss on the Strip and in Downtown Las Vegas last year was $ 6.9 billion.
• The vast majority of players in these two areas are on tourist – locals avoid the Strip like the plague and also in Downtown, visitors are in the majority.
• In total there were around 28.9 million gambling visitors in 2016 (69% of the total).
• The loss per visitor was just over 240 dollars. This is a high estimate, since there are indeed a few lost locals on the Strip.

So roughly estimated $ 240 in gambling loss per person per trip, that is not so bad. Or against, if you are a casino owner.