Nevada’s Online Poker Rooms Grind Out a Win in March

Nevada’s legal online poker sites managed a slight revenue uptick in March, according to figures released yesterday by the State Gaming Control Board.

Total revenue for March was $926,000, compared to $824,000 in February. That breaks down to a daily average of $29,871 in March vs $29,428 for February, or a bump of about 1.5%.

State reporting does not break out earnings by operator. Based on traffic levels, WSOP.com likely accounted for 50-60% of total revenue and UltimatePoker.com for the remaining 40-50%. Real Gaming, the third online poker site in Nevada, would not have contributed materially to the overall revenue numbers for March.

April numbers should come in lower

Cash game traffic at Nevada’s online poker sites in April is off around 10% from March, according to data from Pokerfuse Pro and PokerScout.com.

That should exert a drag on revenue numbers for April. However, cash game traffic dropped by a similar amount from February to March and revenues grew (albeit only slightly).

One explanation is that revenue from MTT and SNG play has grown as cash game revenues are declining.

Summer surge a possibility

The current average player pool at Nevada’s legal online poker sites is now off some 40% from the market’s peak back in November of 2013.

While regaining traffic levels anything like the November peak may prove a tall order during the summer months, a number of factors on the horizon could help stop the downward slide and even push Nevada’s traffic trend back toward a positive angle:

• The World Series of Poker – which runs for some two months at the Rio – will bring thousands upon thousands of poker players to Las Vegas. Even a small percentage logging on for one or two nights during their stay would have a noticeable impact on traffic levels.
• The media and marketing blitz surrounding the WSOP will help to reignite interest among existing players and draw a few new ones into the games.
• The subsequent broadcast of the WSOP on ESPN should have a similar effect.
• The player-sharing agreement between Delaware and Nevada is set to kick in late summer or thereabouts, although that’s far from set in stone. Nevada will benefit both from the direct influx of new players and from the inevitable attention that will surround the launch of the partnership.
• The launch of a new top-tier room in Nevada will likely trigger a promotional push from all rooms that will attract new players and generate more table time from existing customers.