Nevada legalized "wide-open" gambling in 1931. Under this newly liberalized regime, commercial gaming slowly grew. In the 1940s and 1950s, with the success of the Las Vegas Strip, the modern American gaming industry truly emerged.

The earliest state gaming tax dates from 1946, and the State Gaming Control Board was born in 1955. In the late 1960s, as the gaming industry became "big business," the state devoted unprecedented resources to studying it.

As a result, state regulators compiled and published detailed records on a variety of casino metrics for the first time.

On these pages, we are making these statistics accessible to a wider public. These are carefully reproduced from the orignal publications, and are 100% verifiably accurate. In the past 40 years, the kinds of information collected have changed, so there are some differences in what is available in the earliest years.

In 1972, the Economic Research section of the Securities Division of the Nevada State Gaming Control Board issued the first Nevada Gaming Abstract, which printed statistics on casino financial performance collected from 1967 onward. Since then, it has been issued annually, and is a treasure trove of information.

In the earliest years, there was a paucity of information released: departmental revenues, administrative expenses, and a condensed balance sheet. But starting in 1972, more information was given, including win per unit. Therefore, the information included here changes, becoming more exhaustive in later years.

In addition, the first abstract had longitudinal data that charted economic indicators from 1946 to 1971.

In the past 40 years, the kinds of information collected have changed, so there are some differences in what is available in the earliest years.

There are currently statistics available for six reporting areas, and the longitudinal data. After the tables with links to annual summaries of available statistical information, there are pages showing annual comparisons for various categories.

Nevada Statewide, 1967-present

Las Vegas Strip, 1967-present

Reno/Sparks, 1967-present

Downtown Las Vegas, 1967-present

Laughlin, 1984-present

Elko County 1967-present

Comparative annual data

Revenue

Average Number of Employees

Rate of Room Occupancy

Per-Room Per-Day Statistics

Gaming Revenue Per Square Foot

Complimentary Expenses

Comparative annual data

Revenue

Average Number of Employees

Rate of Room Occupancy

Per-Room Per-Day Statistics

Gaming Revenue Per Square Foot

Complimentary Expenses

Comparative annual data

Revenue

Average Number of Employees

Rate of Room Occupancy

Per-Room Per-Day Statistics

Gaming Revenue Per Square Foot

Complimentary Expenses

Comparative annual data

Revenue

Average Number of Employees

Rate of Room Occupancy

Per-Room Per-Day Statistics

Gaming Revenue Per Square Foot

Complimentary Expenses

Comparative annual data

Revenue

Average Number of Employees

Rate of Room Occupancy

Per-Room Per-Day Statistics

Gaming Revenue Per Square Foot

Complimentary Expenses

Comparative annual data

Revenue

Average Number of Employees

Rate of Room Occupancy

Per-Room Per-Day Statistics

Gaming Revenue Per Square Foot

Complimentary Expenses

For information about how to contribute to UNLV Center for Gaming Research and Special Collections development efforts, go here.