Casinos on and off the Strip corridor are eagerly anticipating the Nov. 16-18 Grand Prix, offering a mix of promotions and expensive race-viewing packages with price tags ranging from three to six figures. Though the race marks Formula One’s debut on the Strip, gaming analysts say excitement around the race and deep-pocketed visitors could translate into one of the city’s highest-ever gaming revenue weekends.
A view of the front of Ellis Island Casino Hotel, which will be transformed into a viewing area with grandstands for the Formula One Las Vegas Grand Prix,
The Strip has never experienced a $1 billion gaming revenue month. However, analysts and casino executives believe casino play during Formula One weekend could help the industry smash previous records.
The Gaming Control Board said Strip casinos set a single-month gaming revenue record of nearly $835 million in August. Through the year’s first seven months, the region’s revenue figure is up 6.5 percent from the same point in 2022, when casinos collected a single-year record $8.2 billion.
The upward gaming revenue trend has led to predictions that high-end customers associated with Formula One who are staying in resorts situated along the 3.9-mile race circuit will help fuel record-setting casino numbers.
“Operators' gaming expectations have increased with many believing the weekend could be one of the highest-grossing gaming events in city history,” Truist Securities gaming analyst Barry Jonas wrote in a research note Thursday following meetings with resort and casino executives in Las Vegas.
Many of the Strip’s biggest properties, including Bellagio and Caesars Palace, are creating venues along the racing circuit to keep their high-end players close to their properties so they won’t wander too far away.
Last week, Wynn Resorts and Formula One announced the Wynn Grid Club, a $50,000 membership that includes access to a private hospitality suite with views of the start/finish line and turns one and two, along with tickets for the opening ceremony, practice rounds, qualifying, race day and a post-race day brunch. Wynn Las Vegas will provide transportation to and from the Wynn Grid Club.
