Gambling revenue declined 23% in December in Nevada, the 11th straight monthly decline. That’s no surprise given the current economic climate.   And the largesse that casinos are bestowing on their better customers indicates the hard times that are hitting Las Vegas particularly forcefully.

A medium-rolling (allows himself to lose $5,000 at the tables in a weekend) Californian tells me that Vegas casinos are so desperate for his action that they’ve upped the ante considerably on what they offer him to visit.  While he used to be at the “room, food, and beverage” level, he’s now being offered shopping sprees, concert tickets, designer clothing, spa comps, a suite, and other spiffs to visit.  He estimates the volume of what he’s being offered is worth 3 to 4 times what it was a year ago at this time.

That’s an indication that the money isn’t flowing through Vegas the way it used to not all that long ago. So while some in the industry didn’t think that Super Bowl wagering would suffer, it was actually off11.5% from last year.

The Steelers won without covering in their last minute thriller over the Cardinals, and combined with all the prop wagering resulted in Nevada sports books winning $6.67 million on wagering volume of $81.5 million.  The 8.2% hold is an improvement over last year, when the books had a rare loss when bettors were along for the ride when the Giants upset the Patriots.  But before that you have to go back to the Bucs 2003 shellacking of the Raiders to find a worse result in both hold percentage and amount won.

The profits were welcome, but even the most heavily bet sporting event is a relative nickel dropping in the change bucket compared to the receipts from casino gambling.   As an indicator of overall wagering industry health, Nevada is focused more on the gross than the net when it comes to Super Bowl wagering.  The 11.5% decline in Super Bowl wagering volume is not a welcome sign for Sin City, and confirms the dramatic decline in overall gambling volume over the past year.