McCarran Airport posted a 9% increase in traffic.
Assuming normal slot and table hold percentages, we are projecting a 6-8% year over year increase in total Strip gaming revenue in September. The big driver should be table drop which could be up 20% over last year. Hold percentages in September of 2010 were slightly higher than normal on both tables and slots so that is somewhat of an inhibiting factor. However, given the weak numbers of July and August, high single-digit growth in September should be favorably received. We would note that hold percentages can swing wildly from month to month, particularly on the tables – especially Baccarat. However, volumes should show a nice uptick.
Here are our September Strip projections:
