Pavel Prikhodko, Ph.D. Machine Learning
Gambling is a popular and widely profitable industry in the United States. The heart of all casinos, the state of Nevada, produced more than $10.6 billion in revenue from gambling in 2014. According to the Nevada Gaming Control Board, this was an increase from the $10.4 billion in 2013. In the fiscal years of 2012 and 2011, the revenues from gaming in Nevada were $10.28 billion and $10.17 billion respectively. In 2010, casinos in the state of Nevada generated about $9.91 billion dollars in revenue from gaming.
Such an industry requires a wide range of employees. In 2014, there were more than 733,900 people directly employed by the gambling industry in the U.S., and about 977,860 people employed indirectly.
Historically, millions of people in the U.S. played in casinos. In spring of 2008, 80.5 million people attended American casinos. In comparison, the number of people who went to casinos in spring of 2009 was 77.7 million, and it decreased slightly in spring of 2010 to 75.39 million people. The number in spring of 2011 was 79.96 million people. The highest number in recent years was recorded in 2012 — 80.83 million people went to casinos that spring. In 2013, about 80.2 million people visited casinos. The number of people who played in casinos in 2014 and 2015 was 78.87 million and 77.43 million respectively.
Las Vegas is a place that attracts millions of gamers and visitors each year. According to the information published at Statista.com, Las Vegas has a stable (and high) tourism rate. We can see a sharp increase from 2010 to 2015: 37.34 million visitors versus 42.31 million visitors. The numbers of visitors between these years were 38.93 million in 2011, 39.73 million in 2012 and 39.67 million in 2013. There were 41.13 million visitors to Las Vegas in 2014.
About Pavel Prikhodko
Pavel Prikhodko, Ph.D. Machine Learning
Pavel has worked for many years as a researcher and developer on a wide range of applications (varying from mechanics and manufacturing to social data, finance and advertising), building predictive systems and trying to find stories that data can tell.
In his free time, he enjoys being with his family.
Other posts by Pavel Prikhodko:
It looks like less people are gambling, but the ones that are gambling are spending more money. I’ve been to plenty of small casinos, but never done Vegas. It’s on the list though. Interesting stuff!